The first- and second-place winning pilots likely crashed at the National Air Race Championships, possibly because of a blind spot, glare or loss of focus.
Sixty-three of the most severe kinds of aviation accidents, known as Class A and Class B mishaps, were reported last year, down from 71 in fiscal 2020.
Andy Travnicek, 50, a commercial airline pilot from Hampton, New Hampshire, was a member of the Geico Skytypers Air Show Team and was scheduled to perform Saturday.