Stunt Pilot Killed in Crash at Miramar Show

A 31-year-old civilian stunt pilot was killed Friday when his customized plane crashed in the opening hours of the annual air show at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

Sean deRosier was flying a single-engine plane that he and his father built called the “Cabo Wabo Skyrocker” when it failed to pull out of a steep descent. DeRosier was flown by helicopter to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he was pronounced dead of massive external and internal injuries.

The annual three-day event, considered one of the nation’s premier military air shows, resumed after a two-hour delay. Among the featured acts were the famed Blue Angels, the Navy’s precision-flying team.

DeRosier had been performing rolls, turns and spins when the plane went into a steep descent. His parents, Doris and Benedict deRosier of Sacramento, were in the grandstand watching when the crash occurred.

DeRosier, who was unmarried and lived in Fairfield, Calif., performed at numerous air shows throughout the West.

“I knew he was coming in too strong, that he couldn’t pull out fast enough,” said Miller Hart, 40, a private pilot who attends the show each year. “You just knew it. Either he misjudged or something went wrong with the plane.”

Several hundred people watched as the plane crashed between two runways less than 100 yards in front of the grandstand. The cockpit was crushed, but the wings were intact. Military personnel towed the plane to a hangar.

The 900-pound, 210-horsepower craft, painted yellow and blue, had small jet engines in the wingtips to help produce smoke to make the performance more dramatic.

Hospital spokesman Don Stanziano conveyed a message from the family: “He was a great son, a great pilot. He loved airplanes, and he loved to fly.”