This recently released photo was on the front page of my local paper this morning. It shows a Thunderbird pilot punching out just a second or two before his plane struck the ground. He had just taken off for his routine at Mountain Home, Idaho last September. He climbed, rolled inverted, and tried to do a split-S. He apparently started the maneuver about 1000 feet too low. You can see the plane's leading edges deployed full down, significant up-stabilator, and what appears to be condensation above the wings from the high amount of lift being generated. It wasn't enough to arrest the sink rate. Definitely pilot error, but at least he's credited with making sure the plane didn't hit anyone on the ground.

I wonder how close the photographer was to the impact site. I wonder if he had to clean out his pants afterwards. The cockpit video is pretty cool, too.

A series of photos taken from the side is available here.