Pilot Doing Flybys for Air Show Crowd Killed in Crash

The civilian pilot of a Korean War-era F-86 jet was killed Saturday when his plane developed engine trouble and crashed while doing flybys for a crowd gathering at an air show, authorities said.

Pronounced dead at the scene was David John Zeuschel, 46, of Sylmar, owner of Zeuschel Aircraft at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles, who reportedly had raced and worked on vintage war planes for years.

The single-seat jet crashed about three-fourths of a mile from the crowd at Shafter Airport, and no other injuries were reported. The pilot was thrown about 20 to 25 feet from the burning wreckage, said Kern County Fire Department spokesman Bill Alexander.

The crash occurred about 10:30 a.m. as the F-86 and another plane were doing flybys for the crowd gathering for the Warbirds in Action Air Show, which features vintage warplanes.

The F-86 pilot reportedly radioed that he was having engine trouble and tried to maneuver for a landing. Witnesses said the tip of the single-engine craft’s wing touched the ground and the plane cartwheeled across the runway, bursting into flames in a field.

“He was a very competent pilot. This is just terrible,” said Ralph Emerson of Van Nuys, who has known Zeuschel since 1968.

“He’s helped a number of pilots, particularly in P-51s, obtain a number of speed records,” Emerson said. “He’s been flying a long time.”

The cause of the crash was under investigation. The last message from the pilot was received at the Meadows Field Federal Aviation and Administration tower in Bakersfield. There is no tower at Shafter Airport, 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The crash delayed the start of the annual air show for about 1 1/2 hours.

The crash was the first in the six years of the Shafter air show. A “missing man” formation of vintage warplanes, scheduled to fly over the airport later in the day in memory of a P-51 pilot who died last year, was canceled due to the F-86 crash.