Here's a copy of an email I sent out concerning the event to the fellow geek members of my family. I figured it wouldn't hurt to post here as well!:
I thought this was pretty amazing stuff. During the big annual airshow at historic Duxford in England last Sunday, a P-51 was struck by a Douglas Skyraider while both were pulling up after a fly-by. Both pilots survived the crash, and there were thankfully no casualties on the ground.
The Skyraider was able to land without the outer portion of its starboard wing, the Mustang, however, "Big Beautiful Doll" was destroyed. The Mustang was hit just forward of the right empennage, causing the outer portion of the Skyraider's wing to separate throwing the aircraft into a complete barrel roll from which the pilot skillfully regained control and managed to land successfully.
The Mustang looks remarkably intact after the collision, but something must have happened bad enough to cause the pilot to bail out, and the aircraft to be lost. Reports say he suffered a broken arm from the incident, and I wouldn't be surprised if they find he didn't hit the vertical stabilizer when he jumped out...remember, no ejection seats here!
Anyway, here's some of the stuff I've found about it:
The best video of it I can find so far:
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This one has another video as well as pics of the Skyraider minus wingtip:
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This one's way cool, because it shows the sequence of events and the crowd reaction:
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And here's some great shots of the Skyraider landing without the outer-third of its starboard wing:
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Cheers to the pilots for making successful outcomes of what was surely a pucker-worthy moment!
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