A renowned Polish air force pilot and U.S. Air Force Academy graduate died Thursday in the crash of his F-16 during a rehearsal for a weekend airshow in Radom, in central Poland. Maj. Maciej “Slab” Krakowian, leader of the Tiger Demo team, died when the F-16 pancaked at the bottom of a loop during an early evening practice session. The aircraft exploded on impact and slid down the runway in a shower of sparks and sheets of flame. Krakowian was a decorated combat veteran and was an instructor on F-16s.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz issued the following statement on social media: “I am at the scene of the tragedy. In the F-16 plane crash, a pilot of the Polish Army lost his life – an officer who always served his homeland with dedication and great courage. I pay tribute to his memory. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. This is a great loss for the Air Force and the entire Polish Army.”
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The Blue Angel that got killed at Smyrna a few years ago, same thing. Bottom of a loop during practice not enough room to complete a pull out.
Whole loop, ground up, was in afterburner. I have never seen that before.
He had done a wing rock pass, a traditional way of ending an aerobattic routine.
He was not high, or fast, top of loop. There was a pause on the vertical down portion at 3/4 loop without room to close, or eject.
Full loop, the original video clips were out of context.
EPRA Skyline youtube credit-
https://youtu.be/u7gYKKNy5b4?si=tXt7EQLv4nuLINWW
He was in burner all the way down the backside of the loop.
A loop with a long “float” over the top and slow pull at the start of the “back side” can be problematic in a high performance aircraft. During the “float” the aircraft is accelerating which in turn leads to high vertical speed on the back side that eats up precious altitude. If the back side of a loop is not flown with the same velocity and pitch (G) profile as the front side, altitude deviations will occur. A loop entered from a low altitude is a very dangerous and tricky maneuver.
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