Kirby Chambliss OK After Crash

Stephen Pope

Friday, January 25, 2013 at 11:06 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aerobatic champion Kirby Chambliss survived the crash of his Red Bull Zivko Edge 540 in El Salvador after an engine failure.
The incident occurred at low altitude over rough terrain while Chambliss was practicing for the upcoming Ilopango Air Show.
Despite the plane being a total loss after crashing into a rocky ravine, Chambliss extracted himself with only superficial scrapes and bruises.
Fellow pilot Skip Stewart witnessed the crash and quickly coordinated rescue efforts with the El Salvadorian military.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Renowned aerobatic champion Kirby Chambliss walked away from the crash of his Red Bull Zivko Edge 540 on Wednesday after suffering an engine failure while practicing for an airshow in El Salvador.

Preparing for the upcoming Ilopango Air Show scheduled for this weekend, Chambliss was in formation with fellow airshow pilot Skip Stewart when the Zivko’s engine failed at low altitude over rough terrain off the end of the runway. Stewart described the crash sequence in the following message on his Facebook page: