Vintage aircraft crashes into Gulf of Mexico – 2 dead.
The SNJ-6 involved in yesterday's crash was similar to this SNJ-5. (Photo by Jon Sullivan)
A vintage plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico yesterday (March 6, 2010) at 12:36 PM EST, killing the two people on board. Dr. H. Evan Zeiger Jr. and his wife , Margaret “Peggy” Shook Zeiger, died when the North American SNJ-6 (N47LF) crashed into the waters a half-mile south of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, Florida.
According to witnesses, the SNJ-6 was part of a five aircraft formation practicing aerobatics near Santa Rosa Beach. As the airplane was coming out of a loop, the pilot was unable to pull up for an unknown reason. Video exists of the accident sequence, but it was turned over to authorities and has not been publicly released. As soon as the accident happened, the remaining aircraft in the formation circled over the accident scene.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) was able to locate the wreckage and its occupants fifty feet underwater. The pilot was a neurosurgeon who occasionally flew his planes at air shows or events. The SNJ-6 had departed Tuscaloosa Regional Airport (TCL) yesterday morning on its way to Florida, but it is unclear whether this was the last airport the aircraft visited before the accident.
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