Pilot error likely caused death of famous Navy aviator Dale ‘Snort’ Snodgrass, report says
Pilot error likely caused the death of famous Navy aviator Dale “Snort” Snodgrass last year when his private plane crashed at an Idaho airport.
The 72-year-old aviator who flew more hours in an F-14 Tomcat than anyone else — most of them out of Naval Air Station Oceana — was killed July 24, 2021, when his SIAI-Marchetti plane crashed into a field and caught fire shortly after taking off from the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded a nearly year-long investigation into the crash earlier this month, finding that Snodgrass likely failed to remove the flight control lock before taking off, which “resulted in a loss of airplane control and impact with terrain.”
Contributing to the accident, the report said, was that Snodgrass failed to conduct an adequate preflight inspection and flight control check before takeoff.
Snodgrass, who retired in 1999, was a pilot with a Florida-based air show operation and taught aerobatics and formation flying in St. Augustine. His active-duty career included serving as the commanding officer of the Oceana-based VF-33 squadron and also as commander, Fighter Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. A 1978 graduate of the Navy’s “Top Gun” Fighter Weapons School, he was the Navy’s Fighter Pilot of the Year in 1985 and a regular participant in Oceana’s air shows.
According to the NTSB report, Snodgrass had purchased the Marchetti plane on April 21, 2021, flying it approximately 20 times since he bought the aircraft.
Caitlyn Burchett, 727-267-6059, caitlyn.burchett@virginamedia.com
