Warbird pilot/owner and Minnesota businessman Paul Ehlen was killed in the crash of a Curtiss P-40 in western Montana. News reports indicate the aircraft suffered a mechanical failure on takeoff from Ravalli County Airport, crash-landed and was seriously damaged. According to the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Department, Ehlen died “due to the impact of the crash.”
News video shows the aircraft sitting atop a berm with the rudder detached. Fire had consumed the engine compartment and part of the cockpit area. According to the reports, Ehlen was returning to his home in Minnesota from a second home in Hamilton, Montana, when the crash occurred. The FAA and NTSB are investigating.
Ehlen was remembered fondly by friends in several Facebook posts.
