Accident Report Released

The United Kingdom's AAIB (Air Accidents Investigation Branch) released its report today on the accident which occurred on 22 August 2009 at the World Aerobatic Championships in Silverstone, UK. The accident claimed the life of US Aerobatic Team pilot Vicki Cruse. The report has been long awaited in the aerobatic community. The accident was the first fatality to occur in a World Aerobatic Championships in power aerobatics since Leon Biancotto lost his life in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in practice just prior to the first WAC in 1960. Ms. Cruse was a leader in the sport and had won the title of US National Aerobatic Champion in previous years and had won a spot on the US Team on three previous occasions. She was also President of the IAC, the American aerobatic association based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She was highly regarded in the aerobatic world not only as a pilot but as a energetic promoter of the sport. The AAIB Bulletin can be downloaded below.