The US National Transportation Safety Board is to investigate a second crash by a Russian-built Interavia E-3 experimental aerobatic aircraft, in which an object appeared to have separated from the machine before impact.
David Hermance, an advanced technology expert for Toyota in the USA, was killed on 26 November when his E3 crashed into the Pacific Ocean near San Pedro in California. News reports have stated that the aircraft - flying in an area where pilots often practise aerobatics - failed to pull out of what appeared to be a loop, crashing vertically into the water 365m (1,200ft) offshore. Reports also state that an object, thought to be an unopened parachute, trailed the aircraft.
Based on a similar fatal E-3 crash in 2002 off Florida, investigators are likely to focus on identifying the object that separated. In the earlier event the E-3's canopy was missing. In the Florida crash, the aircraft was performing aerobatics and failed to recover from a steep dive.
Source: Flight International
