Dale "Snort" Snodgrass was a real-life Top Gun naval aviator, flying F-14s from carriers. [Courtesy: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]
Key Takeaways:
Airshow legend Dale "Snort" Snodgrass's fatal crash was caused by a control lock left installed on his aircraft, immobilizing the aileron and elevator controls during takeoff.
The control lock prevented Snodgrass from lowering the nose after an aggressive pitch-up, leading to a stall-spin from which he could not recover.
The NTSB concluded that a functional pre-takeoff control check would have detected the lock and prevented the accident.
The report noted that the control lock, though red, was difficult to see from the cockpit when engaged and allowed for taxiing, contributing to the oversight.
The failure to remove a control lock is blamed for the crash that killed airshow legend Dale “Snort” Snodgrass in Idaho last year.
“Had the pilot completed a functional check of the controls before initiating takeoff, the presence of the lock would have been detected and the accident would have been prevented.”
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
