Stuntwoman and pilot killed in Ohio air show crash

Spectators have returned to an air show in southwestern Ohio a day after a pilot and wing walker were killed in a horrifying crash that was captured on video.

Gates at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton opened yesterday morning, with the day’s events set to begin with a moment of silence to honour pilot Charlie Schwenker and wing walker Jane Wicker.

The two were killed on Saturday when the plane crashed in front of spectators who screamed as the aircraft was engulfed in flames. No one else was hurt.

The show was cancelled for the rest of the day but reopened yesterday.

It wasn’t clear yesterday what went so wrong. The biplane glided through the sky, rolled over, then crashed and exploded, killing the wing walker and the pilot.

A video on WHIO-TV shows the plane turn upside-down as the Schwenker sits on top of the wing. The plane then tilts and crashes to the ground, erupting into flames as spectators screamed.

Ian Hoyt, an aviation photographer and licensed pilot from Findlay, was at the show with his girlfriend. He told The Associated Press he was taking photos as the plane passed by and had just raised his camera to take another shot.

“Then I realised they were too low and too slow. And before I knew it, they hit the ground,” he said.

It appeared that the plane stalled and didn’t have enough air speed, he said. He credited the pilot for steering clear of spectators and potentially saving lives.

Thanh Tran of Fairfield said he could see a look of concern on the wing walker’s face just before the plane crashed. “She looked very scared. Then the airplane crashed. After that, it was terrible . . . very terrible.”