Accident Overview
During an airshow practice at St. Louis Regional Airport, a McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA) pilot flying a leased Navy F/A-18C impacted the ground at the bottom of a reverse one-half Cuban eight aerobatic maneuver. The briefed altitude at the top of the maneuver was 3,500 feet above ground level (agl), which was intended to provide a baseline altitude of 1,000 feet agl. However, recorded data showed that the actual altitude at the top of the maneuver was 2,280 feet agl.
Maneuver Analysis
A group of F/A-18 pilots using an F/A-18 simulator determined that the lowest altitude at the top of the reverse one-half Cuban eight required to successfully complete the maneuver was 2,500 feet agl. The discrepancy between the briefed and actual altitude, as well as between the actual altitude and the simulator-determined minimum, is noted.
Pilot Information
The pilot was trained as a Naval Aviator and was a graduate of the Navy's test pilot school. He joined MDA Flight Operations on March 4, 1996. He had accrued 16 hours in the F/A-18 in the last year, of which 11 hours were in the last 90 days. The pilot had flown five civilian airshows within the last year, with the most recent occurring 11 days prior to the accident; all these airshows were flown in a Pitts Special aircraft.
Company Practices
MDA did not have a formal training plan for their pilots who perform airshow demonstration flights.