A Navy investigation shows a Utah pilot instructor's "thrill-seeker mentality" led to his death last December when his plane crashed near a Pensacola Naval Air Station outlying field in Alabama.
Provo native John Brown had attempted a low-altitude roll when he lost control of his T-34-C Turbo Mentor trainer shortly after taking off from Silverhill Landing Field near Robertsdale, Ala.The 28-year-old lieutenant died instantly.
His friends and co-workers in his training squadron said Brown was an accomplished pilot who rarely violated flight rules. But the investigation found that he was known to routinely "hotdog around" while training pilots in Africa.
Brown had just returned from a four-month tour of several African nations to train pilots to spot rhinoceros and elephant poachers.
The report found no evidence Brown intentionally turned his plane toward the ground because of speculation from friends that he was under stress after a girlfriend left him. The report said he had no girlfriend.