Selfridge Air Show Accident: Officials Investigate Fatal 200 Feet Fall
U.S. officials are investigating the Selfridge Air Show accident on Sunday, in which stuntman Todd Green fell 200 feet from the airplane to his death.
We're looking at anything involved with the aircraft, anyone involved with the accident, maintenance records, said Tony Molinaro, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman, reported The Detroit News.
A statement from the Selfridge Air National Guard Base noted that Green had successfully performed the stunt the day before under similar weather conditions.
Green's colleague Kyle Franklin told AP that Green was very good at it and performed it successfully many, many times.
The air base is working with the FAA and National Traffic Safety Board to investigate the incident.
The fall shocked the crowd of 75,000 spectators, many of whom thought it was either part of the show (that the falling body was a dummy) or that Green would open up a parachute (as earlier stuntmen have done).
In the two videos below, a woman can be heard saying it's a fake body. The announcers, however, were audibly alarmed upon the fall.
Green was attempting a stunt in which he stands on a small airplane and transfers himself to a helicopter by grabbing on the helicopter's skid. In the fatal accident, the stuntman appears to have lost his grip and then fallen to his death.
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