Kansas P-51 Fatal 16-Jul-2017 NTSB Id: CEN17FA270

Vlado gave -- GAVE -- us lots of stuff for our Mustang Room at Amelia's Landing. He wouldn't even accept money for shipping.

That's the kind of guy he was -- and he didn't even know us yet. He just heard what we were building, back in 2002, and wanted to help.

He was just giving me crap on Facebook last night. I can't believe he's gone...

Godspeed, Vlado. I am proud to have called you my friend.
 
I see I double posted. Sad day indeed. The passenger was no small loss either. She was an active Ag pilot and based on reputation an all around solid person. Terrible loss.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Vlado gave -- GAVE -- us lots of stuff for our Mustang Room at Amelia's Landing. He wouldn't even accept money for shipping.

That's the kind of guy he was -- and he didn't even know us yet. He just heard what we were building, back in 2002, and wanted to help.

He was just giving me crap on Facebook last night. I can't believe he's gone...

Godspeed, Vlado. I am proud to have called you my friend.
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Vlado's name sounded familiar. Was he on the old usenet rec.aviation.piloting boards by chance?

As far as figuring out what happened, it seems as if everyone is running a go-pro when they operate these types of planes so perhaps there's a chance of recovering video.

Nevertheless, RIP.
 
FloridaPilot said:
RIP.....I wonder what happened!
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I got a chance to fly a P-51 a couple of times. The guy I flew with also owned a T-6 which I have many hours in. I remember he told me, if you can fly a T-6, you can fly a P-51. The T-6 was designed to teach pilots and weed out the bad ones, the P-51 wasn't. However, he told me when something goes wrong in a P-51, it goes wrong in a hurry. It seems we've been losing them at a rate of one per year, which is a really high accident rate when you consider how many were out there.

From what I've heard of Vlado, he was a good and caring man and I can only assume he would be devastated that a young lady with a long life ahead of her was lost along with him.
 
Lowflynjack said:
I got a chance to fly a P-51 a couple of times. The guy I flew with also owned a T-6 which I have many hours in. I remember he told me, if you can fly a T-6, you can fly a P-51. The T-6 was designed to teach pilots and weed out the bad ones, the P-51 wasn't. However, he told me when something goes wrong in a P-51, it goes wrong in a hurry. It seems we've been losing them at a rate of one per year, which is a really high accident rate when you consider how many were out there.

From what I've heard of Vlado, he was a good and caring man and I can only assume he would be devastated that a young lady with a long life ahead of her was lost along with him.
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It is easy to forget these were designed to be a front line offensive combat weapon, not an aircraft for recreational purposes. It is particularly upsetting when such an experienced pilot is involved - we are all human and can make an error, but it seems so unlikely in this instance.

I have a vague recollection of a long-ago Gordon Baxter article about the original training manual for the P-51; something about little black coffins in the margins beside those instructions that if ignored would potentially terminate a young military pilot's career...
 
Lowflynjack said:
I got a chance to fly a P-51 a couple of times. The guy I flew with also owned a T-6 which I have many hours in. I remember he told me, if you can fly a T-6, you can fly a P-51. The T-6 was designed to teach pilots and weed out the bad ones, the P-51 wasn't. However, he told me when something goes wrong in a P-51, it goes wrong in a hurry. It seems we've been losing them at a rate of one per year, which is a really high accident rate when you consider how many were out there.

From what I've heard of Vlado, he was a good and caring man and I can only assume he would be devastated that a young lady with a long life ahead of her was lost along with him.
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That young lady was a good one. She was the airport manager and co-owned a local Ag flight business. She's done a LOT to revitalize the airport. She was an avid pilot and had an active group to inspire young women to fly (particularly taildraggers). Losing her is a big blow not just to Atchison, but to the aviation community as a whole.
 
Brad Z said:
Vlado's name sounded familiar. Was he on the old usenet rec.aviation.piloting boards by chance?

As far as figuring out what happened, it seems as if everyone is running a go-pro when they operate these types of planes so perhaps there's a chance of recovering video.

Nevertheless, RIP.
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Yup. Back in 2002, when we were discussing the possibility of building an aviation themed hotel, I'm pretty sure Vlado participated on the conversation.

He also generously contributed to the effort. His authentic Mustang parts are an integral (and cool) part of the decor of our Mustang Room.

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
 
I wonder if those wires were a factor? No mention of any broken power lines nearby?
 
steingar said:
Didn't look too mysterious to me. Low level acrobatic stunt gone wrong. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
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I'm guessing that is not the cause.

Vlado had 9,000+ hours in P-51s. He knew exactly what it could and could not do.

I wonder if something broke during the high altitude aerobatics? Was he in control when it crashed?

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
 
steingar said:
Didn't look too mysterious to me. Low level acrobatic stunt gone wrong. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
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The report said they were doing 'high altitude' aerobatics.

Then they add the line about a single witness saying 25 feet about the power lines.

I wouldn't get too wrapped up about the prelim....
 
Jay Honeck said:
I wonder if something broke during the high altitude aerobatics? Was he in control when it crashed?
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If something broke inflight, they'll probably be able to figure it out.

I'm more curious, though, with what the report says about the engine. That propeller does not look at all like it was spinning at impact.
 
Fearless Tower said:
The report said they were doing 'high altitude' aerobatics.

Then they add the line about a single witness saying 25 feet about the power lines.

I wouldn't get too wrapped up about the prelim....
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I saw that as well and that got my curiosity up.
 
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