A Skyraider and two Mustangs performing a low pass on the first day of the 2011 Flying Legends airshow. The lead P-51D nicknamed Big Beautiful Doll is the plane that crashed on Sunday.
[banerias, via Flickr/CC]

Bad luck continues to hamper vintage air shows of this season. On 12 July, during the famous annual Flying Legends show at Duxford, a P-51D Mustang and A-1 Skyraider collided during a formation manoeuvre in front of the audience which gathered by the thousands. Fortunately, both pilots were saved, a tremendous relief considering the low altitude at which the crash occurred.

The collision happened after 5pm, just as the final group flypasts (so-called “Balbo”) of participating aircraft drew to a close.

The video coverage suggests that the pilots didn’t see each other, the Skyraider colliding with the Mustang. Following the impact, the Mustang dived steeply into the ground with the pilot parachuting out below 800ft. The Skyraider’s pilot managed to retain control of his aircraft, despite the fact that the 4-ft portion of the starboard wing was missing, completed a circuit and executed an emergency wheels-down landing at the airfield. It was a close shave for both pilots, which should be commended for great presence of mind and excellent airmanship. Both men could walk away safely to the awaiting medical assistance.

The pilotless P-51 hit the ground in a crop field about 300 yards away from the western end of the airfield, well away from people and property.

Additional photo coverage can be found in this article by Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013219/Pilot-Rob-Davies-escapes-WW2-fighter-mid-air-collision-airshow.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

In another incident, Michael Carlsson’s Fokker DR-1 replica was damaged on landing earlier during the same event. The tirplande nosed-over after hitting propwash from an aircraft being run-up ‘on the line’.