Mac Hodges B29 Crash 2014

B29 Crashes into storage tent at Warbirds over Delware.
Mac's Intervew on HK Live.
• HobbyKing Live - Mac H...

[@timjansen7694]

Judging by the sound at the instant of crash, the plane crashed into Harpo Marx.

[@ADihle]

That's what I thought-oh shit, it hit a clown

[@oldmanc2]

I laughed so much, I did my back in. Brilliant

[@johnciummo3299]

Freakin Harpo Marx comment. Hilarious!

[@n84434]

Still funny....

[@GabeGettinRich]

Tell me your age without telling me your age. Great comment sir.

[@ZaxFrank]

Hard to tell, but it looks like the outboard engine on the left (port) side was spinning slower than the others.Very happy to hear that no one was hurt. This could have been a lot worse.

[@rambler6891]

I'm just glad no one was injurded😂

[@greenseaships]

Anyone who is hurt while drunk is injurded.

[@trickyz3609]

injurded

[@no_one404]

Injerded

[@YouTubeUpdatesKeepGettingWorse]

Injreded

[@lsb7311idk]

Injurded

[@time10flights]

possibly take off and landings should be done facing away from a crowd?

[@yoshiegg95]

They are done facing away from the crowd, the problem here as you could see was the plane pulling a hard turn while being out of control, that‘s why it unfortunately flew into the crowded area

[@mattyboy47]

Actually if you look at the flag to the far left upper corner there must have been a pretty stiff cross wind. The ailerons and rudder are deflected correctly on the run up, as I think he realised the plane was still tracking left and think he must have been thinking it's heading for the flightline, hence the full up elevator. This all conspired to cause the stall and crash. Maybe the port outer motor was playing up too, looks like a combination of factors. I guess he had hoped he could get it into the air and fly away, but it was stalling the moment it left the ground, just an unfortunate accident.

[@larryav8r]

I saw a flag as the plane crossed the crowd line, but it indicates he had a right crosswind. During a takeoff roll, the plane would've wanted to weather vane into the wind, not away from it. The fact he had full right rudder and aileron with a right crosswind and still was drifting left should've tripped some alarm bells for a pilot of his experience. Of course, he probably did 'hear' the alarm bells. He simply didn't have the time he needed to process what they meant. That happens too.

[@greatplanesman]

Far left outside engine did not throttle up.

[@GraemeMurphy]

No, this blokes name keeps coming up in a number of You Tube crash video's. He seems to be a liability on any flying field.

[@Big1_]

R.I.P Enola Gay

[@TheGodParticle]

Survivalist should have stayed at home yesterday..

[@danyal5288]

I want to like but it’s a 29 likes (b 29)

[@jrcadventures2905]

@@danyal5288 well you can like now it’s at 30

[@tsmgguy]

These models are being built larger and larger. They carry a great deal of energy into a crash, more than enough to be deadly.

[@Turboactive]

Wow, and the AMA is worried about FPVers with foamies being unsafe.

[@greenseaships]

AMA ain't worried. It's the FAA that is! Oh the AMA is worried about the FAA too :P

[@Harlanmote]

That was a foamy just a big one..

[@josefsstationrc6064]

FAA and Australian CASA are all concerned about FPVers because some of them flew too high and too far at the wrong place all the time.

[@gettingeven446]

It's harder to read some of these comments than it is to watch the video. Obviously Mac didn't realize there was a problem until the aircraft rotated and by then he was nothing more than a spectator himself. His only options at that point were to cut the throttle or not. Pulling the throttle to idle and aborting at that point while the aircraft is pointing toward the flightline would result in certain contact with the spectators. I believe the pilot did the right thing by keeping full power giving him a better chance to recover and getting more distance away from people. You can see in the video that the left side motor (s) are not running up to full power but I'm sure it wasn't so obvious in person otherwise he would have aborted. The fact that all of you perfect pilots can see it in a video while you watch from the comfort of your computers and smart phones doesn't mean crap so stop trying to pretend what perfect super pilots you are. And to suggest that rules need to be changed is ridiculous. Warbirds over Delaware, like many other fly-ins is a safe event that has been proven for many many years. You idiots that want to place more restrictions and call your lawyers at the first sign of an accident are just that....Idiots.

[@gingermattb]

The problem here is not how the pilot reacts once he advances the throttle and something goes wrong, but the decision to fly such a big heavy model from a position so close to he crowd. Starting so close means there is zero chance to abort without incident - he can only choose the type of crash he's going to have. A better layout is the only thing that would have guaranteed to prevent this incident.

[@letzrock1675]

@@gingermattb I’m willing to risk the .00001% chance of getting killed by an RC plane if it means I get a better look at that behemoth on its takeoff roll. You probably still wear your Covid mask 24/7.

[@factorypilot99]

He could have easily backed out of the throttle and steered it away from the flight line. You can see he had full rudder deflection even from the start of takeoff before he had too much speed. Not to back seat Pilot but just goes to show money doesn’t buy skill

[@captainaxle438]

@@factorypilot99 yes he froze he could have cut power and pushed the nose down he's not as good as he thinks he is most people are not

[@yzScott]

Not at all. That was ham-fisted use of elevator. He was dragging the tail hard to rotate and went immediately into a stall. You can see the elevator if fully up on rotation. Dude has full back-stick to take off. That is a guaranteed disaster with a big bird like this.

[@RoboTekno]

Thanks for uploading this. I just heard the news. Was the cause of the crash determined? My God, I'm so glad no one was hurt :-( This could have been horrific. Another angle: Lums Pond B29 Crash Warbirds Over Delaware 2014 Here's my best guess as to what happened (FYI, I was not at the event) The B-29 began it's ground roll and appears to be pulling left from the get go. You can see full right rudder and full right aileron is given before rotation. This could have been a good sign to abort the flight, but I guess at that point the aircraft was already pointed toward the crowd. After rotation, the nose wheel (also seen given full right) lifts off the ground and the aircraft pulls even harder to the left as soon as the wheel looses ground effectiveness. Still, full right aileron and rudder is given throughout the flight. The left outboard engine seems to be running much slower than the right outboard engines and this is confirmed by the amount of smoke puffs coming out of left engine when compared to the right. I believe this B-29 has differential thrust programmed in for flat spin maneuvers. Even though each engine may be ran up and checked before each flight, I'm wondering if throttle differential was activated before take off and the right and left throttle servo wires were crossed. This would have caused the right engine(s) to go to full throttle and left engine(s) to go to idle when full right rudder is given, thus making the plane pull harder and harder to the left as more and more right rudder is given. Also based on windsock and flag directions, there looks to be about a 5-10 mph crosswind in the same direction that could have aided the crash. Lastly, since the X-1 rocket plane was installed, this may have helped to add just enough drag on the right side of the plane to prevent the B-29 from turning a tighter turn into the large crowd at the flight line. Also since this was probably a popular display to see, this could explain why no one was injured because most people were at or near the flight line, haha. I was thinking of going to Warbirds Friday or Saturday, and this plane was all I was looking forward to seeing :-( The almost 3-D maneuvers I've seen this plane pull on KZbin are epic. Also based on a KZbin search, it appears Mac's large B-29 models crash every few years... Mac Hodges b-29 - Crash Mac Hodges B29 crash, good X1 show Mac Hodges B29 Crash Clip Thanks again for the upload.

[@stanley7598]

In the history of the sport of RC flying there have only been a few fatalities. There are often hundreds of deaths every time a full size plane crashes! I wish people would stop acting as though RC flying is particularly dangerous. These people were in far more danger driving to the airshow than they ever were during the crash.

[@Blueray450]

Mac was at DE yesterday and found that the far Port engine Servo had failed. Normally he has been able to pull right up and power out of such a situation. As he said in the interview, even if he spooled down, he would have it the crowd at the fence. I believe nearly everyone was near the fence to see this flight. That flight line was the place to avoid which he did. You may call it luck but in a second or less to access the situation, Mac did pretty much the decision which had the highest probability for success given the information he had at the time and the amount of time to decide on what to do. Easy for people to Monday morning quarterback anything he did. But the fact that no one was hurt can not be denied. You can call it luck or you can call it skill, but it is what it is.

[@saito125]

Your comment is a testament of how ignorant you are about the RC hobby and about Mac Hodges... go back to your gardening kit, son...

[@saito125]

All that envy is making you sick... I suggest you dump the booze and the drugs you're using and get a job... and a life. Douche..

[@daddyofjames]

***** It isn't envy..why do apologists for bad flying call it envy? He shouldn't have taken off. He had a sick engine, and ramming in compensation didn't work, so what possessed him to take off? Will the ones who think he's Chuck Yeager and find he's actually Icarus be there to praise him if he kills or seriously injures someone, with his 7th, 8th, 9th B29?

[@gingermattb]

***** I agree, but you are wasting your time - many people here seem to believe Mac cannot make a mistake because of his experience, even though he is human jsut like the rest of us. My time in full size gliding taught me that experience can sometimes be a mixed blessing - newbie pilots are taught to always think safety first, but the more expereinced pus the limits of their aircraft a lot more, especially when competing or performing to a crowd.

[@daddyofjames]

Anthony Smith Frankly I don't care how many hours you have on full size. Extrapolate the B29 crash to full size, what do you think your CFI would say if you attempted to get off the deck with a sick engine and not enough airspeed? Impressed do you think? This was incompetence. How many has he crashed so far? I'm sure though he'll be encouraged by his disciples, right up until he hits someone. Then everyone will loo the other way and say 'Why didn't we stop it taking off?'

[@Jimboy1611]

I always watch this for a chuckle. Never fails. Air horn followed by a bang.

[@xjet]

Why is it that so many "skilled" pilots simply do not know how to use their rudder? When you have an engine failure on a multi-engined aircraft like this, you use *RUDDER* to oppose the yaw that the thrust differential created but if you look at the footage you'll see that once she left the ground, NO right rudder was ever applied. Bank and yank is okay for sports models but when you start flying these beasts you really do need to realise that your left thumb does more than work the throttles when flying.

[@venturation]

Hey Bruce, I'm not sure if we are watching the same video? I see full right rudder between 23 to 28. Fact of the matter is there wasn't enough rudder authority to compensate the number 1 engine failure. Also the hobbyking video they interviewed Mac and he explains he was using right rudder to try and compensate. He really should have cut all engines and abort takeoff though.

[@CCWSig]

There is very clearly right rudder applied in the video, This was a tip stall, there was no rudder authority do to low speed.

[@gregcoldwell1531]

You can also see that he had right aileron applied which in this case would only serve to keep the left wing in a stall situation. Darned tapered wings.

[@CCWSig]

Greg Coldwell Good catch! and I would agree with your assessment.

[@gregcoldwell1531]

CCWSig also I noticed that engine no. 1 was already a problem before the aircraft crossed in front of the pilot. At 0:22 you can see the prop is at idle. He should have throttled back and aborted had he seen this.

[@iflyc77]

This is the most beautiful VMC roll ever caught on video. You can tell about 5 seconds before it left the ground that number 1 wasnt turning very fast - and he already had full right rudder in. Yet decided to continue the takeoff.... It is amazing how the people that build these beautiful custom models can be so terrible at flying them

[@x808drifter]

1 and 2 were not throttling up and he said fuck it.

[@greatplanesman]

The issue here is that the left outside engine did not rev up properly like the other 3 did, and that engine is the most critical out of the 4. The airplane stalled from differentiated thrust, not from pilot error. Mac did the absolute best he could given the situation and that was to coax it up into the air and over the crowd. The real problem likely wasn't profound until the airplane had generated far too much speed to scrub off the takeoff.

[@ugh.2923]

Aww, I loved that plane. The guy who made it did such an amazing job. :( At least no one was injured.

[@Sweedster]

He’s driven it nose first into the ground after having a wing collapse so he’s definitely rebuilt a few times

[@riproar11]

No he didn't. It's like he built that plane while drinking a case of beer after he saw some photos of B-29s. Nothing on that plane resembles a B-29 from the classic shape of the tail, to the wings not resembling a slim, glider-like profile. When I built 4'-wingspan B-17 bomber from Budweiser cans in college, I bought the Monogram plastic model and enlarged all of the fuselage and tail, wings, and rear stablizers to scale on a photocopier, pieced them together and trimmed my patterns accurately from them.

[@greenseaships]

It actually doesn't say if anyone was injured. It DOES say no one was injurded though so I hope that's still good news!

[@Turboy65]

Engine failure clearly visible before the start of the take-off run. Should have aborted immediately, any other decision was wrong. Did the control operator not position himself so that he could observe the whole plane during takeoff?

[@deannelson9565]

There was no engine failure he always turns the smoke on before he takes off watch any of his videos Jesus!

[@danielright2044]

@@deannelson9565 you'd better call on someone who knows ya, haha

[@Leepatrick3868]

I’m glad no one was ( injurded) l?

[@galexeqe]

0:33 The crew just reeeeally wanted a hot dog from the mess tent

[@SubToTripleThreatRC]

That sucks in so many ways! I'm very glad no one was injured, that was a close call!

[@imakeitworst]

***** that was no miracle, that foolish RC pilot could have killed or maimed someone for his recklessness and not aborting a clear problem with the port number one engine.

[@riproar11]

I think you meant to say "no one was injurded"

[@SubToTripleThreatRC]

@@riproar11 dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/injured

[@riproar11]

@@SubToTripleThreatRC 0:53. Whoosh!

[@SubToTripleThreatRC]

@@riproar11 🤣🤣🤣👍👍

[@montosunify]

Its stupid that they are spending such amounts on their models and yet no one consider having a proper runway paved.

[@ucrash2]

Do not remove this video, we need to see what can happen. Even the pro guys like Mac can have a bad day. At your field, is the flightline too close to the people? I love the hobby as much as anyone. let's take this crash to our field and make a critical survey for safety. Barriers, alarms, fire extinguisher, water for eyes, address to tell 911 if needed, first aid kit, spotters, there are lots of stuff many fields have done and have backslid over the years. If you do a safety update and have an accident, at least they can't say we didn't try.

[@larryav8r]

Good point. Your comments reminded me of Scott Crossfield's untimely demise. The guy was one of the most successful test pilots in American history. Thousands upon thousands of hours flying everything from biplanes to rocket planes. But one day he tried to thread a thunderstorm in a Cessna 210 - a total rookie maneuver. It was a sobering reminder to everyone in the full-scale community that EVERYONE is susceptible to errors in judgement. Even living legends. If there was an error in judgement, this will be a valuable lesson for the modeling community and it won't cost anyone their life. Just a little pride.

[@saito125]

Some people here really go above and beyond their envy and hate over Mac Hodges... Mac's not perfect, but he knows his machines. And he knew his B-29. It's easy for the morons who call him "incompetent" to put all the blame on him. Now let's hear the dogs bark again.....

[@daddyofjames]

Get it out of your head that it's envy. There are people with lots of expensive models saying he's incompetent in this instance. It certainly isn't hate either, it's more despair that such as you and him don't feel he's culpable. Who else was to blame then? Aliens? Klingons? If he 'knew' his machine, why did he take off when it wasn't in any condition to take off? Explain if it wasn't his fault, who else was it? Good luck with that.

[@randallhuston1466]

If that's not a newbie mistake I don't know what is. It was pointed at the fence and he jerked the stick back hoping he had enough airspeed to climb out. Good thing no one was killed. I see two things very wrong from the start. For one, that plane should not have started it's takeoff run that close to the fence and for two, when planes that size are being flown, there should be not one but two fences parallel to each other in case the first one doesn't catch it. He was so close to the fence that he didn't have time to fully react when it started to veer left. In a video by Hobbyking, he even explained that he had time to think about what was going on, yet elected to attempt to take off anyway. He said that plane had plenty of power to go nearly vertical but he knew it was pulling left. What thought process made him think that a plane that wasn't reacting as it should while level was somehow going to right itself doing vertical?

[@pukki34]

Well he IS incompetent and this video proves it

[@peacefuljeffrey]

Glad that no one was injurded when the airplane crashded. (Would it be too much to ask that you proofread an eight-word sentence?)

[@MGCairtraffic]

Glad there were no injuries... Sorry to see a beautiful plane damaged...

[@triplanelover]

I know he's lost two or three B29s already, but the takeoff run looked anemic and the airplane was veering left ; the setup is lousy there, spectators and tents too close to the active runway. The potential for disaster is damn high.

[@30AndHatingIt]

Take this man’s toys away from him.

[@TheDuckcarver]

Mac Hodges brought his airplanes, considerable equipment and personnel, to many flying exhibits and radio control events (at his own expense) for a number of years around the U.S. I'd guess that his spectacular flights numbered in the hundreds! I was near the point of impact at the flight line when the port engine lost power. There had been a virtual deluge the night before and the aircraft, moored in tents, were subjected to a lot of moisture. Stability of any aircraft right after takeoff is slight until airflow over control surfaces increases. Reduced thrust on the left wing caused the right wing to turn the plane to the left. The airfield at Lum's Pond State Park is second to none. Safety standards are high. I have flown my comparatively smaller warbirds there often and look forward to attending Warbirds Over Delaware again...once the host club is allowed to hold it.

[@ThePipcg]

After a second viewing, he has at least two clear opportunities to abort. At the last moment of lift off, clearly he was not going to make it. The decision has to be made before beginning the roll, that the model has to be sacrificed in the interests of safety. Full down and chop throttle would have dented the plane but it would not have gone into the arena. I have also seen another video of this pilot crashing a version of this plane in 2008. I think there are signs of a too cavalier attitude and a lack of flexibility of thought. Should he stop flying at shows?

[@bretmuldner]

AMEN, BUT knowing people like that he wouldn't stop until a tragity!

[@TroutLizard.]

Absolute pilot error. Never touched the rudder to keep it tracking straight and forced it off the ground full elevator before it had enough speed. A plane that size could’ve seriously injured or killed multiple I’m surprised it didn’t hit anyone in the pits. So many pilots unqualified to fly these giant scale warbirds

[@peterden9076]

Spot on!

[@kingsleykronkk3925]

At 28 seconds you see rudder and aileron.

[@greatplanesman]

Also, everybody keep in mind that Mac Hodges and his crew aren't a bunch of nutballs. They are very experienced modelers and they would NEVER put this model into the air without thoroughly inspecting and testing every aspect of the aircraft to ensure it's 100% flyable. Everything was obviously working right up to takeoff so what happened is entirely a mystery and I feel they will seriously contemplate putting the airplanes back together. This is the 3rd time this model has been crashed, this time being a very narrowly avoided catastrophe. As far as the flightline safety rules, AMA states that for models this large that spectators need to be at least 200 feet and pilots 50 feet at minimum. If the event coordinators feel that the safety of the event is being maintained, they can lax these safety margins so obviously the event must have been going exceedingly well up until this point. Besides, the aircraft went pretty close to 200 feet BEHIND the pilot line. You can speculate all that you want, "Oh I would have done this or that." but the cold hard reality is that you weren't in control and Mac did what he felt was the best. Fortunately, it worked in his favor and the model went down into one of the tents at the event and injured nobody (well, maybe the pride of Mac and his crew, but that can heal too). All we can really do is speculate. It happened, nobody got hurt, everybody goes home in one piece. Stuff like this is bound to happen, especially with a multi-engine model this large and that's something we will just have to face when it happens. We can do everything in the world to prevent it but the inevitable will always happen and everybody just has to remain alert at these events because pilot errors and equipment malfunctions DO happen to everybody.

[@davidkennedy3050]

If the 200 foot rule had been followed, he easily could have aborted the takeoff. There is a good reason the setbacks and requirement are more stringent for 100 pound RC planes than they are for 5 pound ones. The need for room is even more appropriate for large multi engine warbird than compared to a similarly heavy Extra or Pitts.

[@greatplanesman]

David Kennedy I agree with you fully in that, but the point I am trying to make is perhaps the event coordinators relaxed the flightline distance rules so people could get close to the model for better pictures. It was a beautiful airplane after all, and that could easily explain why so many people were that close. The GOOD news is that nobody was hurt since everyone was very likely paying attention to the airplane. It's a real showstopper.

[@davidkennedy3050]

greatplanesman It is very good news that none was seriously hurt. I am vocal precisely because we as an RC community need to follow very high standards of safety right now if we want to keep the FAA off our backs. They are focused more on the UAV's and FPV right now, but had this incident ended up differently that would change real quick.

[@greatplanesman]

David Kennedy That is why I'd rather not see this video plastered all over the net right now.The last thing we need is some major media outlet getting a hold of this video to use it as a scare tactic for the general public. The general public doesn't know Mac and his crew like we as modelers do so all they're going to see is someone flying a big toy airplane over people and crashing into them. They couldn't care less that the airplane had an engine failure on takeoff.

[@kaydee457]

If 200 ft. were maintained then likely Mac would've never yanked it off the ground and it would not have crashed 200 ft. inside the protected area.

[@pencils1951]

The engines were out of sync, and given the two or three attempts to get airborne, there was obviously not enough speed to sustain flight. Also considering the supposedly experienced pilot at the controls, it seems incredulous he would make such a fundamental mistake, however, he did and the crash was the result. The port outer had failed probably due to the reasons stated by greatplanesman. The venue itself is suspect given the proximity to the spectators. Thoroughly bad show old boy.

[@tomod4173]

The video says thankfully no one was injured in the crash, what it should have said was thankfully no one was killed in the crash.

[@JohnJ-fj2xe]

In some ways, these RC shows are more dangerous than the real thing. An aircraft (even RC) of that size and speed crashing into a tent occupied by unsuspecting people could have been a catastrophe.

[@Sun_set_Trucker_Cascadia]

0:30 love that crashing noise

[@30AndHatingIt]

I don’t know why I enjoy seeing these things crash as much as I do.

[@thethirdman225]

That could have killed someone.

[@stephengirling7859]

The real ones killed millions!

[@AphexTwinII]

@@stephengirling7859 ayooo

[@ThePipcg]

In the UK, because of CAA regulations governing model aircraft shows, the crowd would have been considerably farther away so the accident would not have occurred so close to people. As for the pilot, he didn't have much time to react. It takes a little time to sort out why your model is veering to one side and take appropriate action. However, I think he probably had time to chop the throttles at least.

[@davem5333]

I don't understand why when the engine on the right wing started smoking like that he didn't abort the takeoff. That would have been the best move.

[@cherokee180c0]

Thank god no one was hurt. Models can be fixed. Hope you are doing well Dave. We will have to get together to fly some Helis soon.

[@nickademuss42]

you can see the left engines not spinning up to RPM on the rollup to take off, and it being a scale aircraft it has scale sized rudders and ailerons, they were not big enough to compensate for the full power on the right wing, low power on the left...so you get a crash....multiple engine aircraft issue....

[@mjproebstle]

all indications looks as if the aircraft was in Vmc ground and then a Vmc air situatuation at rotation due to engines number 1 and 2 not performing as planned. the aircraft drifting excessively to the left and full right rudder needed so late in the takeoff roll could have been some good indications of an undesirable situation other than the visual and audio cues from engine rpm differences and exhaust output, but can be hard to recognize unless they are anticipated. multi-engine aircraft have the potential to have these assymetric thrust issues and should always be anticipated on every takeoff. unless you raise the 'dead engines', go to max power and apply opposite rudder all together immediately, maybe a 2 engine recovery is possible, but as suggested crosswinds and other factors probably doomed this flight. and, perhaps a little anxious to go flying, but hats off to the pilot for doing his best to avoid the crowd! a lot to be learned here, that's why we do what we do.

[@flys4free2]

wow thats too bad, glad no one was injured. Hope Mac rebuilds. That b29 was such a great performer, have seen it fly several times at SEFF.

[@bretmuldner]

I hope he stops flying and lets someone else take the stick as he clearly has very POOR decision making skills when it comes to flying around others!

[@bretmuldner]

WOW! BUMMER, Bad judgment all the way around. This film needs to be played at every safety meeting, there are so many problems with this take off you could talk for a long time.

[@shelbyintheolds]

Really shocking. Mechanical issues had to played a role in this crash. Glad to see no one hurt.

[@ThePipcg]

So, I have just found 4 separate crashes by Mack and a B-29. Maybe a little meassage there? Also this crash is down to poor maintenance and pre-show and pre-flight checks. The man is clearly a bit of a liability.

[@ioaircraft]

I only got 3 letters....... Wow...........

[@mysticalpotato86]

'Even if spooled down, it would have hit the crowd at the fence'. In my opinion as an R/C pilot, the moment that thing starts running at an angle toward the crowd you abort - which was pretty much immediately. 1. There was a fence, yes its flimsy but props do get snagged up in it and it does at least help to prevent contact with the crowd. 2. Those it would have hit have a clear line of sight to the aircraft, they can at least attempt to remove themselves from the area, or at least prepare themselves rather than have something barreling in at them unexpectedly from the sky. 3. Getting hit at ground level is much safer than the alternative.

[@Blueray450]

There have been KZbin videos of crashes into crowds before. I hope other clubs can learn from this. I hope other pilots can learn from this. I know after being there that I will fly differently and consider things differently when flying with a crowd. I know the Prez of the DE club. He will most certainly make some changes if not this year, next year. I don't think the hobby is helped at all by trying to sweep things under the rug. The hobby is helped by people adapting to new situations and learning from theirs and other people's mistakes. Mac has done wondrous things for the hobby and thrilled many people. Lets not forget that. This event happened, removing videos will not stop that. I hope Mac rebuilds and I expect he will have learned from this experience. I have flown at Heli events that are pretty scary. I hope events from the Heli world change how people run those events too. BTW, smoke I believe is a smoke system from the engine. Not the X1. If the X1 fired, You'd have seen a much bigger smoke come out. Just look at his other vids.

[@pilipsp]

The club doesn't need to learn from this, the pilot needs to learn from this. He should have aborted.

[@darrindwp]

Paul Pilipshen Have to agree. There was ample time to abort the takeoff before it got dangerous for spectators. Dragging a plane off the ground when its not ready to fly is never a good thing.

[@ricovali9245]

Do it quick before the government gets wind of this.they have already tried to ban these big rc planes.after 9/11.

[@imakeitworst]

Paul Pilipshen Very well said, Mac was reckless! Apparently his ego got the better of common sense.

[@ThePipcg]

Check out the UK CAA rules on model flying shows. The crowd would be much farther away from the flight line.

[@4thGloryMonday]

its amazing no one got hurt, i think the Lord had His hand over the feild this day

[@wdavis6814]

Oh my God! I almost had a heart attack! I thought this was a real B-29 that crashed....

[@TroutLizard.]

It was real just not full scale

[@gregcoldwell1531]

As the aircraft passes in front of the pilot the #1 engine is not generating full thrust . He should have noticed this and he had ample time to abort takeoff and sacrifice the model if necessary. If you notice, he seems he lifts the model off the ground with barely enough airspeed. Hence the nose of the aircraft bouces once before lifting off. Had he given it a longer takeoff run, he may have avoided a left wing tip stall and brought it around for an emergency landing. You see it a lot at rc fields: pilots yanking the aircraft off the ground before sufficient airspeed and the model goes into a low altitude spin. It's very likely he didn't notice the windmilling engine and thought he had full power.

[@jackmehoffer7819]

Is this the same Mac Hodges that crashed all the other B29’s? If it is he’ a Japanese ace!

[@gingermattb]

Looking at other vids of this model taking off from grass it's clear the rate of acceleration was much slower than usual. For that reason I think he probably did have just enough time to abort the takeoff, but the lack of separation between flight line and spectators and delaying a fraction too long meant he had no option but to drag it off the deck; a mistake many of us have made, though not normally with something this big. So glad no-one was hurt.

[@riproar11]

Hey mister, you meant "So glad no one was injurded."

[@franciscorubio8290]

If you look closely , if you are facing the plane , the engine of the right side was not going at full throttle and caused the airplane to wing tip!!

[@TralfazConstruction]

Imagine wondering what was the source of that buzzing sound that was growing louder then turning around.

[@kirkyandka7712]

Thankfully no one was injurded! But did anyone get injured?

[@lizzyfan1986]

😂

[@billgentry6138]

100% Pilot error, typical engine issue with improper RPM on all engines.. take off should have be aborted..

[@emerychandler]

I get pilot error can occure with even skilled pilots but I call BS. Only one engine did not operate right in the video. Engine 1 was still idle when he was throttling up on take off. He obviously did not see it, and then it started to drift, you can see he tried to apply right rudder, tip stall, and at that point he had no control- such low speeds at that low an altitude- leaves little options. Hind sight is 20/20 but no one like a monday morning quarterback.

[@Summernightsandneonlights]

Bill Gentry I wonder if alcohol was involved ? You know them pilots like to have a few Martini's beforehand. Lol then again if it was weighted down with a number of 500 or 1000 lb bunker Buster's ?

[@summer-west]

They need to release the flight data and cockpit recordings of they have nothing to hide.

[@jonnybbaby5150]

Why take the video off? You dont see me telling you what to do now do ya?!

[@wearedoomedunderbiden738]

Pilot error ...Seen this mistake before . Control pilot didnt give the plane enough speed , he lifted to soon . The plane could not do a vertical climb due to lack of speed , it banked to the side instead and crashed .

[@ericbartolotta6567]

Look at other videos of this guy. He always does a short take off. Its part of his act. Imo- theres no issues with the motors. He simply sat on the elevator and stalled.

[@TRAXXAS6606]

It's sad to see this amazing pilot lose his plane to something simple that we all probably couldn't prevent. As for all you people saying that it was Mac's fault and that he should have done this and that, give the guy a break!!! It's bad enough that he lost his $75,000 plane, he does not need to hear it from you people! Yes, ok, something happened. We all know. Weather it was a engine blowout or as simple as his trigear out of line and moved to the left. This same thing happened to me 10 years ago on my very first take off! I was still need to flying and when I throttled up, it veared to the left like this. I did get it off the ground and flying. But nearly hitting a guy head on. That scared me. But no one was hurt and I learned what caused it and what yo do if it was to happen again. The tri gear could have been pushed to the left a bit by the small grass patches. It does bounce on the ground after all. And as for you people saying it was an engine problem because you see it in this video. Unless you were there, you cannot tell if a engine is slower than the others when looking at a video that distorts rotating objects! Unless you were there, you cannot judge by a video. I know Mac personally, and I know that he and his crew checks this plane serval times and very well! If it doesn't seem right, it didnt fly!!! Now, in the video, just as the plane is starting to drift, I can see that Mac knew what was happening. He had to make a hard choice in a split second. Throttle down, or take off. He chose to take off and for a good reason too! If some of you people would think outside the box and look at what really can happen, then you'll see that this plane is huge! So that means it will NOT stop on a dime!!! This plane would have taken 100 feet or more to stop at that speed. But if it continued to stay in that same direction, it would have hit the people in the crowd by shredding that cheap and flimsy fence and probably would injure tons. But in this case, he went up because he knew the other way was deadly. Unfortunately, that was too and he wasn't able to recover from the stall... But know one was hurt. And AMA will cover the damages except his plane. So stop saying that Mac is terrible! Because he is one of the best damn pilots on earth and he knows as well as I do that what he did was the only way to prevent tragic endings. So to everyone out there. This isn't a game. These are not toys! This things are real and they can kill! Don't be fulled by the safety of technology because they can and will fail! Let this be a warning to us all to fly SAFE! And as to Mac; genre at flying, and smart move. If you wouldn't have pulled up and crashed into the tent, people would have been hurt...of worse...

[@QuadMochaMatti]

Must be nice to have that kind of money to blow on something that's going to get wiped out so fast. Can't say I feel sorry for him. Just another rich boy with too many toys. 🙄 Meanwhile, some of us are just hanging on by our fingernails from day to day, forgoing what others we may regard as basics.

[@Diesel6401]

Wow. Just seen this at Nall a few months earlier. Glad no one was hurt.

[@captainstickman4093]

Imagine being in the tent it hit looking out to see what all the racket then seeing a b29 heading you way uncontrollably

[@coreydail7870]

I could see it on the take off roll. I have an RC B-17 and have had trouble with it too. No. 1 was not spinning as fast as the others, causing differential thrust to the left. Things are happening fast and the left pulling on the ground roll could be attributed to a crosswind needing more opposite rudder. Not until rotation does everything really go bad and then there will be a crash. That is the danger with 4 engine models. In my case I crashed at the end of the runway where there were no people. No. 1 engine was not running right. It pulled to the almost dead engine beyond rudder control. A scary incident, glad no one was hurt

[@Blueray450]

There have been some incorrect assumptions by some people posting comments. The area where the plane went down was a restricted area for Pilots. We all had wrist bands on denoting our status to enter that area.

[@davidkennedy3050]

Just because you (or anyone else who had an AMA card) had an arm band does not mean you were not spectators. All of you were watching him fly with the exception of the X1 pilot and the spotters immediately next to Mac. The reason for the increased setback for RC planes this big is to provide a larger margin of safety precisely for eventualities just like this one. Lets stop thanking "god' and start being proactive about safety.

[@Crashman2]

yes.

[@timPA44]

Crashman2 I'm airline pilot, certified flight instructor CFII, MEI, and an R/C enthusiast This was totally preventable it's amazing no one was severely injured. The clear failure was not aborting takeoff within the first 20 foot roll when there was a problem with directional control. (You can also see #1 was not generating power).

[@Crashman2]

Exactly. Finally, an Authoritative RC + Real-life Manned aircraft Pilot here. IMHO, these models are getting so large (w/ some of them - (usually models of Edges, Yaks, & Hi-performance aerobatic SEL aircraft, 1/3 scale) that we have already had 2 fatals where the crowd was hit at face/throat level by the model RC aircraft prop-disc(s) hitting them at speed. These folks often hover them far out of any wing-loaded aerodynamic flight regime (since they have zero load but fuel, Big Engine/Prop, & a superlight model airframe) by hanging them vertical, supported only by the prop's pure thrust and just compensating & stabilizing with the aileron/elevator/rudder controls to handle engine/prop roll torque. 1 killed was a minor child of 7-8 yrs, hit in the throat by prop of a ten-foot-long model of a Edge/Yak aerobatic. Other than that I have little to say about RC because I don't do that. An airline pilot who is also an RC Expert Hobbyist should be listened to VERY CLOSELY as an Authority.

[@ThePipcg]

Having a wrist band doesn't protect you! It is luck that the aircraft went down where it did, so could quite easily have gone down a little farther away, near or in public areas.

[@easygoing2479]

Those old warbirds are dangerous, too old to fly. That thing was 70 years old and has been wet in the rain so much it shrunk

[@pauloakwood9208]

Click Bait. The title implied that an actual B-29 had crashed. It was a toy version of the B-29 for goodness sake. Total click bait.

[@danielbennett2891]

apart from not putting the throttle up in the first place i cant see what could have been done to correct this. looks like the left side had a lack of power. the pilot couldnt stop and tried his hardest to turn away from the crowd. he needed more speed so the rudder and ailerons would have more affect but it was moving to the left too quickly. he pulled up but it was too slow. better crowd layout might have helped. nothing else! he light have been able to cut the throttle as soon as he left the ground so it would have been more likley to tipstall to the right but that is a hard decision to make

[@riproar11]

I hope he threw away the current tail and took the time to rebuild the tail to look true to a B-29. Seriously, download a side profile image of a B-29 and enlarge it to scale. So glad no one was "injurded".

[@CEOkiller]

Guess we won't be breaking the Sound Barrier today..

[@timjansen7694]

I think they took a tiny plastic model of Chuck Yeager to the hospital, a hospital in the proper scale, of course.

[@alexanderzohrens2945]

strange.....the ailerons have been put always on full right and the plane was banking to the left until crash...

[@robbygee2539]

Anybody call the FAA?

[@azmike3572]

Probably called lawyers specializing in wrongful injury instead...

[@thephilpott2194]

Two observations: The title is click-bait and probably adds an extra zero to the number of views! I would think use of an RC multi engine plane deprives the 'pilot' of proper feedback in the event of a lagging or failed or runaway motor; he can't feel the response of the a/c thru the seat of his pants so by the time recovery is initiated it is potentially already too late. This problem would of course exist in a single engined unit but it is magnified here. Just glad no-one was under it.

[@mattyboy47]

Sadly too little run up speed, rotated too early, a simple stall. It happens. So glad no one hurt.

[@AnderzP]

Seems to be the second one he smashes. There is a film from 2008 where he ends up breaking the spar after a spin manouver - totalling the model. Interesting is the take off and fly out part of that film that clearly shows inadequate use of rudder. Using right rudder at take-off of this flight might have saved the plane or at least the tents and crowd. Modellers not knowing how to use the rudder is all too common, even seasoned pilots seems to fail on this way to often. Using aileron on a model (or any plane) flying slow and with no wash-out built into the wing is a sure way if stalling one wing. Practice on using your rudder folks, this makes you safer pilots.

[@JackerNo2]

I never use my rudder.I get totally confused with too many things to do. I taped my rudder up with gorilla tape. Hope the engine don't fail! I once forgot to throttle back on landing and flew right into a Ford Capri. The owner kicked me in the bollocks

[@SuperTastyone]

Yer, Rudders are a real pain. I got so paranoid about crashing that I put 6 rudders on my plane. It made fuck all difference . . I still crashed . Top of the range BMW . . right through the wind screen. The owner chased me across the field with an Axe! Shame nobody filmed it. . . would of got a Billion hits.

[@xoio]

Great thud sound!

[@mjproebstle]

also, no recovery was possible with full up elevator in this situation, which would have needed to be neutralized, but this action spared any injuries :) good job!

[@Nedroj]

Shit like this happens you all know that. My question is : why the heck is the tents and people so close to the strip?. The responsibility is the club ,not the pilot.

[@Hoverbot1TV]

So lucky, antiquated gear no doubt, vintage and too large imo to be smoking like that and still take off. I have tuned a lot of two strokes and that looked like a Kawi triple with burnt rings would not get past tech inspection at track. The FAA wants to ban FPV goggles for 250mm multirotors seriously?

[@VTIslandsFireman]

From having seen his demonstration before, the smoke was from Smoke Oil... Not improper tuning (of the engine that was smoking. With Planes this large you are required to have them inspected annually. That being said, my best guess is one/both of the left engines were not matching RPMs of the right, and he should have realized that before taking off.

[@ReloaderJoe]

Matthew Reed And should have cut the throttle instead of trying to take off at too low of speed when it was veering towards the pits....easy for us to say, though.

[@VTIslandsFireman]

***** Yea without being at the controls its tough to know, the Video shows he had full right aileron before takeoff which to me indicates he knew something was wrong... but that might be normal to balance the torque of the 4 motors.

[@greatplanesman]

It was far too late to do anything but coax it into the air by the time the problem was discovered. You weren't in control, and Mac is an amazing an outstanding pilot.

[@davidkennedy3050]

greatplanesman He may be an outstanding pilot but he never should tried to takeoff with spectators that close. AMA rule is 200 feet for spectators. This was reckless.

[@dasboot6935]

How can no one be hurt? There must been at least five people aboard that plane.

[@youtwoba]

Thank God no one got hurt, but it looked like a classic reversal of aileron control.imo

[@JohnVHRC]

if you watch the video you can see the ailerons are going the correct way.. its a classic stall is what it is, horse it off with not enough airspeed, looks like maybe the far left engine wasnt revving right either

[@greatplanesman]

JohnVH541 Far left engine did not throttle up. Several tell tale signs, including it putting out small puffs of smoke when it passes right in front of the camera- they only do that when the throttle is at or near idle, otherwise it would be very laminar.

[@malshanperera]

greatplanesman might have been the nose gear failing too, he seemed to steer right with his rudder to avoid the crowd just missing it by giving some elevator and then stalled

[@MAZAWAKHAN]

malshan perera Yeah man! Its always a stall!

[@walperstyle]

MAZAWAKHAN If you have engines powerful enough to prevent a stall.... you then have a B29 quadcopter :)

[@sanfordcarson3941]

I watch the footage over & over and it's clear that engine throttle's were not in sequence or running @ same RPM this can be seen also in the exhaust ( too much & too little ) the right-wing produced more thrust then the left-wing engines (see outer left engine propeller ) running but lower RPM ..... which equates to mechanical failure (Not Pilot Error) it was the owner/engineer/mechanics . Fault HOLD -ON !!! he's the pilot i guess

[@jasmine2501]

Holy crap, was anybody killed?!

[@keithbeckett1349]

Im no expert, but it looked life the furthest left engine wasn't running properly, and was spinning slower for sure. Which would have meant there was extra power on the right side which had both engines running fine, making it turn left. Which explains why it reared off to the left during the takeoff run. And also explains what it did once it got airborne. But I dunno, maybe it was some other reason, its just what I immediately noticed.

[@CallmeDaBreeze1971]

People here act like Hodges is the first RC pilot to "dork one in" Sheesh.

[@caesarillion]

Generally it seems RC people rely too much on power and not enough on aerodynamics. Was this plane capable and checked out for engine failures for example? The big stuff is. Ever do stalls etc? Something to think about. Thanks for the show and best of luck to you. Paul V Long Beach, California

[@endwood]

That was bloody dangerous, very poorly handled. Classic mistakes made there. Wayward tracking on the ground during T/off roll, that should have been an instant abort right there & then. Pulling it into the air well before a safe T/off speed & suffering from VMCA, an ineffective use of the rudder, stalled & spun in, damned lucky that's for sure & that crowd was bloody close!!!!

[@bobevangelista8198]

I must be the only one who doesn't know what happened.

[@simki1]

was that the same plane that was in Yuma last winter?

[@greeber18]

life sized or scaled down, its still expensive.

[@twistedyogert]

Either those are really big people or that B-29 is tiny.

[@deino117]

Did that have the Glamorous Glennis under one wing?

[@AntonioCabralNumberOne]

The good thing is that plane wont ever fly again with that pilot.

[@mcsqL7]

Dang how many times has he crashed that thing ... i searched YT "Mac Hodges B29 Crash" and it looks like many times ... I hope he never kills someone ... reckless

[@joshyrc_2011]

i hope the tent is ok

[@theminecrafter189]

is there a thing where we can donate to him to be able to build a new one?

[@workonesabs]

Flightline is far too close to the crowd, literally a few feet. Accidents do happen, but should never be in the crowd area, whatever happens.

[@wadebradley2393]

Wow, as i read on, there is some negative comments inn here,,i know mac personally, he's a great pilot, he's been flying this thing for 20 years.. someone posted what actually happened, Im sure mac made the best call he could of.. we all crash, for one reason or another.. you just cant help it when something mechanical goes wrong.. and that obviously happened here.. Mac knows more about this sport than I'll ever possibly ever learn. trust me if you know him you would say the same thing! Crap happens! I am just so happy no one got hurt! The B~29 will fly again!

[@octavioveliz]

Good thing no one was "injurded" but I wonder if anyone was injured.