What happened
At approximately 12:35, an aircraft arrived at a private airfield for a series of fly-by passes intended to celebrate the opening of a nearby shopping center. After completing the aerial demonstrations, the pilot requested permission to land at the facility, which was personally owned by the pilot. Air traffic control provided landing clearance and informed the pilot that the wind was blowing from the south at 20 knots.
The aircraft touched down on runway 09. During the subsequent landing roll, the aircraft underwent a nose-over maneuver. This event triggered a significant fire that destroyed the cockpit, the cabin area, and the left wing of the plane. A passenger managed to exit the aircraft using the right-side over-wing emergency exit. Upon exiting, the passenger observed the pilot lying unresponsive near the rear door of the wreckage. The incident resulted in one fatality and one serious injury.
Findings
Investigators identified two distinct skid marks in the grass leading to the wreckage site. The track left by the right main landing gear measured 750 feet, while the track from the left main landing gear measured 560 feet. The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the nose-over during the landing roll.