The pilot of a semi-trailer on which three aircraft engines had been mounted died on Saturday following suffering an accident during a motorized show in the American state of Michigan, where he had exceeded 480 km / h.
Chris Darnell, 40, died “of his injuries” following this accident caused by a “mechanical breakdown”, says his father Neal Darnell on Facebook.
Videos posted to YouTube show the truck, dubbed ‘SHOCKWAVE’, being hovered over by two planes as part of the show, appearing to lose control before bursting into flames and performing a series of barrel rolls on the tarmac at the airport. Battle Creek Airport, home of the Air Show Festival.
“We lost our youngest son Chris in an accident where he was doing what he loved: performing with SHOCKWAVE,” his father wrote.
Equipped with these three aircraft engines, the truck had previously reached the speed of 605 km / h, a record for a semi-trailer, according to the company’s website.
“The investigation into this accident is continuing,” noted the Battle Creek police on Saturday evening, which specifies that the American agency in charge of aviation is participating in the investigations.
The rest of the festival’s aerial displays were scheduled to resume on Sunday morning and continue through Monday, July 4, the US National Day.
