Warbird Information Exchange

I just read the preliminary NTSB posting, too and it doesn't sound to me like the wingtip hit the ground. If it did, it probably would have been bent UP, not down 60 degrees. The NTSB report also said that while the upper cap of the front spar was bent down at about Wing Station 177, the lower cap was not bent at all - it seemed to be cracked. I'm wondering if a pre-existing defect caused the whole wing panel to simply let go under the extreme stress of a the high speed pass and the abrupt pull-up at a seemingly high weight, all exacerbated by the weight of the aux fuel tanks and lift/leverage of the aftermarket winglet on the wingtip.
Given that his speed was so high, when the wing panel let go, it seems logical that it bent inward and flipped back in the slip stream close enough to the rear prop that the prop cut the two notches out of the trailing edge that were mentioned. The loss of that much right wing explains why it rolled so violently to the right. The report also mentioned a dent in the leading edge of the separated right wing panel that they attributed to contact with the rear engine cowling/rear fuselage. Seems to me that if it hit the rear engine cowling/rear fuselage, the prop would have chewed it up worse than just two little notches in the trailing edge. Maybe it just hit the right boom and damaged or bent it too.

I suppose that we'll just have to wait 9 - 12 months for the full NTSB report to come out and assign the blame. No matter what else they find, it's likely that they will not be gentle on the two pilots.

In the meantime, my heart goes out to the families left behind, especially the ones that witnessed the whole thing.