One of the most respected members of the jet warbird and airshow community, Jimmy Rossi, perished early Monday morning in an engine failure accident in his beloved F-86. The accident took place shortly after taking off from the San Isidro Air Force Base in the Dominican Republic.

While the cause of the accident is obviously still under investigation, eyewitnesses reports indicate that "a ball of flame" was seen coming out the back of Rossi's F-86 Sabre shortly after departure. Rossi attempted an emergency landing in a marsh, but the resulting impact was, tragically, fatal. Rossi had performed at last weekend's 2002 Caribbean Air Show at San Isidro AFB and was in the process of flying home when the accident took place.

David Schultz, President of David Schultz Airshows reported that, "About 0840 this morning Rossi and wingman Tobe Gooden, in his MiG-15, were leaving to go home after a wonderful and captivating performance for nearly 60,000 airshow fans in Santo Domingo. Shortly after takeoff, the F-86 had a catastrophic engine failure with a very large flame out the back of the aircraft. Tobe Gooden witnessed the aircraft going into the field and immediately landed back at San Isidro.
Rossi did a remarkable job not to injure or hurt numerous people that lived in the area as he placed the aircraft into a marsh about 4 miles NW of San Isidro..." 

Rossi was a true aviation fanatic... best known for his airshow activities as well as being a former member of the US Aerobatic Team and a retired American Airlines pilot. Rossi held an Airline Transport Certificate with type ratings in the DC-3, DC-4, DC-9, DC-10, 707, 747, 757, 767 as well as Letters of Authority to fly The North American F-86 SabreJet, MiG-15, MiG-17, Lockheed T-33, TS-11 Iskra, DeHavilland Vampire and L-39. He also held a Flight Instructor Certificate with Single, Multi Engine, and Instrument ratings, and served as an Aerobatic Competency Evaluator for the International Council of Air Shows. Rossi was a member of EAA, IAC, FAI, NAA, Warbirds of America, CJAA, ICAS, and the Screen Actors Guild.

Rossi's most recent gig was his truly breath-taking low level Aerobatic Air Show performances utilizing CrapShooter, an F-86 SabreJet and Mr. Mig, a MiG-17F. Rossi flew air to air combat routines in either jet with another pilot flying as his opponent. No one who saw this show easily forgot it.

"What else can one say about a guy who every jet warbird pilot admired and respected, other than to say that Jimmy Rossi was a class act!" said Dave Weiman of WORLD AIRSHOW NEWS, the trade magazine for the airshow entertainment industry.

"Jimmy was a talented aviator, whether he was flight instructing, administering an aerobatic competency evaluation of his fellow performers, flying for the airlines, or entertaining millions of spectators at some of the largest airshows in North and South America. He worked hard to be the best, and he was certainly one of the very best pilots performing today. I'm sure his mentoring of others will long be remembered throughout the industry for years to come."

ANN sends our respects and prayers to Rossi's family and friends... this guy was a one-in-a-million flyer and will be sorely missed. [ANN thanks World Airshow New's Dave Weiman for his assistance with this story]

FMI: http://www.sabremig.com