NTSB Probe Will Rely on Memory Card Found at Crash Site

I agree with magnetoguy. Listen to the pilots. Read my post. Appears some of my thoughts are comming to light, with the exception of the tail wheel. Could have been a failure in lock pin, but it would not surprise me if Jimmy was still conscious of trying to extent the gear. Highly unlikely but plausable. Intense amount of G forces. You could se that by the planes rapid ascent and descent. Still you did not see his helmet in any of the canopy views which leads me to think he had lost consciousness.

I would listen closely to the pilots that were flying at the time, and look at the past history of this sort of failure. Trim tabs are notorious for breaking off, and unconsciousness due to g-forces has happened in the past when these control surfaces fail. In addition, note that the rough turbulence generated from aircraft ahead of Jimmy made it difficult for other racers as well. The Sea Fury near Jimmy was struggling right beforehand as it rounded turn #1. Up front, Voodoo and Strega had the benefit of running close to each other, while avoiding each others' wake turbulence. From my position in the pits, I saw the Ghost bounce back and forth along its major axis through the buffeting air just as it finally barreled out of control toward the crowd. In photos, no pilot input is evident from control surface angles and no helmet is up in the cockpit. One pilot nearby his ship described 2 foot wingtip deflections at 30 times per second prior to the unfortunate rapid climb, which likely led to a loss of consciousness. Extremely damaging harmonics and g-forces may have been present prior to this disaster. These planes are right at the edge of their performance envelope, and the race leaders (in pair) created quite an obstacle in terms of the bad air to pass through. Jimmy hit it while he was catching up to them. Note also, the weather was changing. It cooled, and the breeze began to pick up after they were airborne. The heat from the ground was still rising after days of pounding sun.