Pilot, Jeff Pino, Fatally Injured In The Accident

ANN RealTime Update -- 020516, 2114 ET: ANN is aggrieved to confirm that the aircraft involved in this tragedy was none other than former Sikorsky Boss Jeff Pino's 'Big Beautiful Doll.' 

A good friend and a member of the 'Let Bob Fly' inner circle, Pino has been confirmed as having died in the crash, and that another person was on board when the aircraft went down. The second ID has yet to be confirmed. The accident site has left little clue as to what happened and the so-called witness reports don't lend a lot of data as yet. However; something appears to have gone quite wrong in that the impact debris ring suggests a high-speed, near-vertical, impact. We're going to be very interested in what happened here as Pino was one heck of an aviator, and a simple cause seems unlikely.

To all those who knew or befriended this amazing flyer, ANN extends our prayers and thoughts. 

Original News Report: A P-51 Mustang has gone down in Arizona, resulting in the fatal injury of the pilot.

Few details are currently available about the accident. Television station KNXV reports that Pinal County, AZ Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Clark said the airplane went down in Maricopa, AZ in an area just south of the Ak-Chin Indian community. Clark confirmed that one person was fatally injured in the accident, but that person has not been identified.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said that the plane was a P-51D Mustang. No information about the airplane's owner has been revealed. The plane reportedly went down shortly after noon local time, and there was a post-impact fire.

NTSB and Pinal County Sheriff's officers reportedly were conducting an on-scene investigation.

Maricopa is about 15 miles south of Phoenix, AZ.

(Image from the Pinal County, AZ Sheriff's office Facebook page)

FMI: http://www.pinalcountyaz.gov/sheriff/pages/home.aspx, www.ntsb.gov