McLeod, 66, was chief pilot of the World War II-vintage aircraft owned by the Carolinas Wing, Commemorative Air Force, based at the Moore County Airport.
J.T. Cotner, CAF wing leader, said McLeod was also the pilot responsible for training new pilots to operate the wing’s World War II craft and was in charge of maintenance.
A certified flight instructor, he recently retired as vocational agriculture teacher in the Moore County Schools. He served a number of years in the N.C. Community College system.
Cotner, chair of the Moore County Airport Authority, called McLeod a skilled pilot with considerable experience.
“Fred held a commercial license with many, many hours of flying time,” Cotner said. “We were all crazy about him. He was a highly skilled pilot and a really great flight instructor who related wonderfully with young people.”
Cotner said McLeod went to Virginia to fly an aircraft the owner had built himself.
Cotner said the aircraft owner was a pilot whom McLeod met during one of the Moore County CAF (formerly called the Confederate Air Force) meets.
“It was exactly the type of challenge Fred would welcome,” Cotner said.
A witness told Cotner that McLeod flew the home-built craft for about 30 minutes, then returned to the airport to land. However, another plane had just landed, and McLeod remained in the air to do what professional pilots call a “go-around” until it was safe to land.
Instead, the plane plowed into the ground, going “almost straight down,” Cotner said.
The cause of the crash had not been determined Tuesday, but engine failure is suspected. The Federal Aviation Agency and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.
Cotner told The Pilot that the FAA uses the term “experimental” to refer to certain types of aircraft that “run the gamut from those that have been flown many years to new types that need testing.”
Such planes are usually built from kits according to FAA regulations.
“But there’s always a certain element of risk involved,” Cotner said. “Fred did not make a habit of doing that.” He explained that McLeod accepted the invitation this time as a favor to a fellow pilot.
Cotner described McLeod as one of the most active pilots in the Carolinas Wing. He was readily available to participate and took part in 15 to 20 air shows a year.
The AT-19 Stinson Reliant was a military aircraft that saw action during World War II. The plane was sent on lend-lease to England, where it was used for many submarine hunting flights over the English Channel, Cotner said.
