About 11:06 Hawaiian standard time, an experimental modified Convair BT-13A struck a palm tree while filming a movie on Ford Island. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane had been modified to resemble a Japanese Val dive-bomber. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was the number 3 wingman of a group of three flying in a modified V formation making a low pass over a movie set. The pilots preflight briefing called for wingmen number 2 and 3 to stack up (above) on flight leader number 1. At the termination of the low pass over the movie set, the number 3 airplanes left wing collided with a 40-foot-tall palm tree, severing the outboard 18 feet of the wing.
April 17, Pearl Harbor, Hi / Convair BT-13A
About 11:06 Hawaiian standard time, an experimental modified Convair BT-13A struck a palm tree while filming a movie on Ford Island. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane had been modified to resemble a Japanese Val dive-bomber. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was the number 3 wingman of a group of three flying in a modified V formation making a low pass over a movie set. The pilots preflight briefing called for wingmen number 2 and 3 to stack up (above) on flight leader number 1. At the termination of the low pass over the movie set, the number 3 airplanes left wing collided with a 40-foot-tall palm tree, severing the outboard 18 feet of the wing....
Key Takeaways:
- An experimental Convair BT-13A, modified to resemble a Japanese Val dive-bomber, crashed on Ford Island, Hawaii, during a low-pass maneuver for a movie shoot.
- The aircraft, flying as the number 3 wingman in a modified V formation, struck a 40-foot palm tree with its left wing, severely injuring the pilot and severing 18 feet of the wing.
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