Who:
Art Scholl, famed aerobatic pilot and aerial cameraman, having worked in over
50 productions
Total Persons on Board:
One
When:
September 16, 1985, about 5:30 PM, Pacific Time
Weather:
Clear to partly hazy, with low clouds
Flight Route:
Local area flight from Oceanside
Area Believed Crashed:
The Pacific Ocean, near Carlsbad, California.
Reason for flight:
Filming background shots for the gimbal apparatus, used on
sound stages, for the movie, Top Gun.
Type Plane:
An Aerotec Pitts "Special" S-2A, registered as N13AS
Search efforts:
After successfully completing an upward spin in his aircraft,
Scholl attempted an inverted flat spin. While descending rapidly in the spin,
and at an altitude of 3,000 feet, he uttered, "I've got a problem."
Shortly
later,, at an altitude of 1,500 feet, he spoke his last known words... "I've
really got a problem."
An spotter plane carrying another stunt pilot and
Scholl's mechanic, Kevin Kammer,
arrived at the scene 45 seconds after the crash and reported seeing no signs of
life - albeit they did not see the actual impact.
Rescue aircraft and vessels recovered only some floating debris,
spotted an oil slick. It
was speculated that the aircraft sank to a depth of over 900 feet about five
miles off Encinitas.
The Coast Guard used a helicopter and 82-foot cutter to
search the 25-square-mile area near the crash but called off the search the
following morning.
The exact cause of the fatal crash remains unknown, as neither
the plane, nor Scholl's body, was ever recovered.
Controversy and Other Notes:
It is generally thought that camera equipment
affixed to the plane altered its weight and balance envelope, making recovery
from the flat spin impossible. None of Scholl's spotter planes witnessed
the impact.
The movie Top Gun was dedicated to the
memory of Art Scholl.
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