A complex maneuver that required accurate timing and at least some visual contact between the pilots for safe execution lacked both and resulted in the deaths of two of the air show world’s most respected pilots last July. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board says that Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin didn’t have a clear idea of where each other was right up until the moment their two biplanes collided belly first at an air show in Moose Jaw, Sask. The board’s final report says the Masters of Disaster aerobatic team, which also included Jim LeRoy, executed a modified version of a maneuver called the Dairy Turn, which not only introduced two potential points of collision, it also made it possible for them to lose visual contact just before the cross was to occur. Franklin’s jet-powered Waco and Younkin’s Wolf-Samson collided in a ball of fire near show center near the end of the Saskatchewan Air Show. Because the maneuver was designed so that the aircraft’s energy was directed away from the crowd, there were no injuries on the ground. The debris fields stretched 1,200 feet.
Younkin-Franklin Crash — Canadian Authorities Issue Findings
Key Takeaways:
- Air show pilots Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin died in a mid-air collision at the Saskatchewan Air Show while executing a modified aerobatic maneuver.
- The Canadian Transportation Safety Board attributed the accident to a lack of accurate timing and visual contact, both of which were critical for the complex maneuver being performed.
- The modified "Dairy Turn" maneuver itself was flawed, introducing potential collision points and allowing pilots to lose visual contact just before the intended cross.
- Despite the fatal collision, the maneuver's design directed aircraft energy away from the crowd, preventing any ground injuries.
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