Warbird Information Exchange

The only P-51 Mustang ever to have received Swiss civil registration so far, was this beauty. P-51D-25-NT 44-73027, was a RCAF veteran that had seen many owners in the USA and later France before arriving in Switzerland. Here it received Swiss registration HB-RCW in July 1998, but sadly it crashed on September 3rd, 1998 in the Swiss Mountains on a ferry flight over the Alps to attend an Air Show in southern Switzerland. The pilot (a very experienced professional pilot [chief pilot of Swiss Air Ambulance] and famous aerobatics pilot), and his son [also a certified pilot] were killed instantly and the a/c was totally destroyed. Cause has been determined as follows: due to bad weather, coupled with fading daylight (thus causing time-pressure), the conditions caused disorientation plus deviation from flight path, and while trying to do a 180° turn in a pocket valley, they went into a high speed stall and hit ground.
The pilot had done many great performances in the other Swiss based P-51D ('Double Trouble Two, N51EA) but this was his first flight in HB-RCW...