Replica WW2 fighter plane crashes in Ontario for the second time

A replica World War II fighter plane crashed in an Ontario field on Monday, and it's the second time that this exact aircraft has crashed in the last several years.

The OPP reported an increased police presence in the area of Highway 26 between Strongville Rd. and Richardson Rd., due to a plane that had crashed in a farm field. Police reported that the single occupant of the aircraft — a two-thirds scale replica of a WWII-era P-51 Mustang — was uninjured.

The plane reportedly crashed just a few kilometres southeast of Edenvale Aerodrome in Stayner, ON.

One commenter noted that this stroke of luck was actually the second instance of this plane crashing and the pilot walking away uninjured.

Interesting. This is the second time that this plane has crashed in 7 years.

— Michael A. CD 🇨🇦⚓️ (ret’d) (@trimikecanada) March 4, 2024

Records show that this same aircraft crashed on August 20, 2017, while landing at Muskoka Airport in Gravenhurst. According to the Transportation Safety Board, the 2017 crash of this aircraft was the result of a gear failure during a forced landing, and the pilot was not injured.

Approximately 15,000 P-51s were produced during WWII, with only about 150 still airworthy over three-quarters of a century later. Luckily, the aircraft involved is only a scaled-down replica, and looks like it will survive to fly another day.