Navy investigators blamed pilot error on the flaming crash of a jet fighter at last year's Point Mugu Air Show, concluding that inexperience and adrenaline caused Navy Cmdr. Michael Norman to inadvertently stall the plane.
The April 20 crash of the QF-4 Phantom killed Norman, 39, and his navigator, Marine Capt. Andrew Muhs, 31, before 25,000 spectators at the annual aeronautics display.
Findings from a nine-month investigation are included in a 3-inch-thick report the Navy released Wednesday. They include interviews with dozens of pilots, mechanics and experts in aeronautics.
Investigators also reviewed photographs and footage of the crash captured on videotape by dozens of spectators. After sifting through the evidence, investigators flatly rejected the possibility of a mechanical malfunction in the 34-year-old aircraft.
"No evidence of any kind could be found which showed any maintenance-related actions contributed to this mishap," the report found.
That disputes the contention of two former Navy aircraft mechanics who came forward after the crash to say they resigned from the jet fighter's maintenance program because it was plagued with problems.
Capt. Mike Rabens, commander of the Naval Test Wing Pacific that oversaw the squadron, said the Navy report should put to rest any lingering concern about the plane's safety.
"The tragedy is now part of us. We won't forget it but we must now move on," Rabens said Wednesday.
"The investigation was thorough, painstaking and got to the cause of the mishap," he said.
The crash occurred as Norman and Muhs were completing a flyover performance along with three other fighter aircraft -- two F14 Tomcats and another QF-4.
Flying in diamond formation, the jets thundered into a hard right turn at 675 feet above ground as they prepared to land. Norman, in the left-wing position, pulled back too hard on the throttle, causing the jet's nose to pitch higher than it should have, the report stated.
The aircraft skidded slightly and began to wobble, leading investigators to believe Norman had pulled back on the stick a second time, essentially stalling the plane.
Norman and Muhs ejected at 150 feet above ground as the plane rolled first right and then left, the report found. Ejecting at that altitude is "not survivable," the report found, and both died of blunt-force trauma.
The plane dived into a marshy area just west of the Point Mugu base. No spectators were injured.
