P-51 crashes in Fredericksburg, Texas

RIP Sir! Never forget a couple of years ago pre-flighting a rental Cessna to go fly from my TX airport near Waco. Storms passing by and not a plane in the sky, very quiet. I hear that sound over the field, knowing for sure what it was, good ole "Pecos Bill". Last year saw it at Burnet for an air show, but never got a chance to talk with the pilot.
 
A tragedy. Always sad to hear the loss of pilots and passengers. Another Mustang destroyed. These aircraft are just getting to old to fly and be safe in my opinion.
 
The truth of the matter is that many of these aircraft are in better condition than they ever were when new, and are maintained with more attention and care than you will find with most aircraft (including the airlines). Of the 164 (or so) P-51 Mustangs currently flying in the world, there aren't too many still flying which haven't been completely rebuilt from the ground up, and some are essentially completely new altogether. I don't want to go into speculation about this particular incident, but you'll find that the majority of P-51 related crashes have come down to the decisions and actions made by the pilot (and/or perhaps, if you want to go there, the physical/mental state of the pilot), never having anything to do with the aircraft or engines. These are high performance aircraft, and they don't forgive mistakes or complacency, especially at low level.
 
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