Famed pilot's plane ‘porpoised,' rolled before fatal crash at Langley Air Force Base
HAMPTON — Famed aerobatic pilot Rob Holland's plane appeared to be making a normal approach to Langley Air Force Base last week until it reached the end of the runway, according to a preliminary report issued Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
As Holland's custom built, single-seat MX Aircraft MXS approached, it leveled off about 50 feet above the runway, then flew straight down the runway for several hundred feet, the report said. The airplane then 'porpoised,' pitched straight up, and rolled 90 degrees to the left before crashing into a grassy ditch about 100 feet from the runway.
A porpoise landing is a bounced landing that, if not recovered by the pilot, results in a plane touching down nose first. If not corrected, the plane will go into a series of nose ups and nose downs, like a real porpoise leaping in and out of the water. The 5-page report said Holland's plane porpoised twice.
The 50-year-old national aerobatic champion was flying to Joint-Base Langley-Eustis on April 24 to prepare for his performance in the base's Air Power Over Hampton Roads air show in a couple of days. Holland flew to the base from Smyrna Airport in Smyrna, Tennessee, according to the NTSB. The crash at Langley occurred about 11:35 a.m.
NTSB preliminary accident investigation reports focus on factual information gathered at the scene, and are issued about one to two weeks after the accident. Preliminary reports don't provide a determination of probable cause of an accident. That information is included in the final report, which can take a year or more to complete.
The preliminary report in Holland's case said he worked with the manufacturer of his aircraft to modify it to his specifications. All the plane's major components were accounted for at the site, the report said, and its most recent condition inspection was completed March 3.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
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