Pilot killed as wartime fighters collide at US airshow

Two single-engine Second World War planes at an experimental airshow collided while landing, killing one of the pilots and injuring the other.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the collision with the two P-51 Mustangs happened Friday afternoon after the planes finished a performance at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture show at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board investigators were on the scene yesterday.

NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said one pilot died and the other had minor injuries when the planes clipped wings on landing.

On Monday, a veteran pilot trying to break a speed record en route to Oshkosh was killed when his small, experimental plane crashed into an apartment building and playground in Switzerland.

The pilot, identified as Hans Georg Schmid, a former Swissair pilot, had been trying to break a world record for a solo single-engine flight. He had planned to fly more than 4,970 miles with a C1-D class of plane, aiming to reach his destination in 30 hours.

The annual convention is considered one of the world’s largest gatherings of recreational aviators. It draws more than 600,000 people and 10,000 planes from around the world. The week-long event ends tomorrow.