Jim LeRoy (April 5, 1961 – July 28, 2007) was an American

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

pilot. He died upon impact in a crash at the

Dayton Air Show The CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show is an annual event held at the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, eight miles north of Dayton, Ohio. From 2013 to 2019, the show has been held on a weekend in late June. Prior to 2013, and again ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Background

A former

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

, Jim LeRoy held a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

Aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

Aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

engineering as well as an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) license.

Stunt flying

Initially flying solo performances, he gained a reputation with his highly energetic aerobatic displays. In 2003, LeRoy joined a daring and successful

airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

troupe, the X-team, who referred to themselves as the

Masters of Disaster Jim LeRoy (April 5, 1961 – July 28, 2007) was an American aerobatics pilot. He died upon impact in a crash at the Dayton Air Show in Ohio. Background A former US Marine Corps Scout/ Sniper, Jim LeRoy held a B.S. degree in Aeronautical/Aerospa ...

. Their performance generally consisted of three pilots flying a simultaneous, chaotic, interweaving aerobatic display through clouds of smoke generated by circling jet-powered trucks below. After two seasons of successful airshows, an accident occurred on July 10, 2005, during a routine performance when

Jimmy Franklin Jimmy Marshall Franklin (May 16, 1948 – July 10, 2005) was an American aerobatic pilot. He performed at airshows, both solo and as part of teams, for over 38 years until his death at an airshow in Moose Jaw. Born and raised in Lovington, New Mexi ...

and Bobby Younkin collided in mid-air. Jim LeRoy was not involved in the collision and landed safely. LeRoy was one of only eleven pilots ever to be awarded both the ''

Art Scholl Arthur Everett Scholl (December 24, 1931 – September 16, 1985) was an American aerobatic pilot, aerial cameraman, flight instructor and educator based in Riverside, Southern California. He died during the filming of '' Top Gun'' when his Pitts ...

Showmanship Award'' (2002) and the ''

Bill Barber William Charles Barber (born July 11, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played twelve seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). As part of the famed LCB (Leach, Clarke, Barber) line, Ba ...

Award for Showmanship'' (2003). He was also one of only a handful of full-time

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

pilots in the world who actually made his living by performing for air show audiences. LeRoy also held the following pilot ratings: single-engine, multi-engine, airplane instructor, helicopter, helicopter instructor, instrument instructor and aerobatic competency evaluator.

Death

Around 2:15PM EST at the

Vectren Vectren Corporation was a Fortune 1000 energy holding company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. Through its utility subsidiaries (Vectren North, Vectren South, and Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio), the company distributed natural gas to appro ...

Dayton International Airport Dayton International Airport (officially James M. Cox Dayton International Airport), formerly Dayton Municipal Airport and James M. Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport, is 10 miles north of downtown Dayton, in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. T ...

outside

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, LeRoy crashed his S2S Bulldog II, while in performance with the X-Team ''Codename: Mary's Lamb'' aerobatics team. Initial indications showed that he was performing a 1/2 Cuban 8 and snap rolls on the 45-degree down line, but recovered too low to the ground to pull out. He hit the runway at , although his vertical speed was only around ; the plane slid and burst into flames.Coroner: Pilot Died Instantly - News Story - WHIO Dayton

/ref> LeRoy was pronounced dead in a military

MEDEVAC Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

helicopter while in transit to

Miami Valley Hospital Miami Valley Hospital (MVH) is a large urban hospital in Dayton, Ohio, and is a member of the Premier Health Partners network. The hospital has two additional locations; Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville, Ohio, and Miami Valley Hospital N ...

. The

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

's report states that LeRoy died on impact due to a

fracture Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...

of his neck, but that he also was badly burned.

References

External links

Official websiteX-team Airshows
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leroy, Jim 1961 births 2007 deaths Accidental deaths in Ohio Aerobatic pilots Air shows American aviators Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States United States Marines Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2007 American military snipers