Famous aerobatic pilot Rob Holland died after a plane crashed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia.
His death on Thursday was announced in a statement on his official Facebook page.
The 50-year-old Holland was scheduled to perform this weekend at Hampton Roads Over Air Power, a popular air show at Virginia Base.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is investigating an experimental MX aircraft crash.
Previously, Holland piloted a custom-built MXS-RH, a single few aircraft made by the same Australian company where the experimental plane crashed.
NTSB chief investigator Dan Boggs said at a press conference Friday that he was approaching the runway “for a normal landing” when the crash occurred. “There were no acrobatic (sic) operations at that point.”
International Aerobatic Club President Jim Burke said that Holland “arrived in the aerobatic competition scene, not just in the US but on the world stage, as well as on the world stage, like a wrecking ball, where we revolutionize our sport and throw away waste to everyone who challenged him.”
John Cudahee, chairman of the International Air Conference, told The Associated Press that Holland “showed what the end of the path to pursuing excellence would look like.”
He performed in the 2023 edition of the biennial airshow at the base and won several competitions for bold stunts in the cockpit. He won the US National Aerobatic Championship 13 times in a row, with his final victory in 2024.
His website details a list of 2025 appearances, including air shows in Milwaukee in Chicago and in Australia's Gold Coast.
Holland is originally from New Hampshire and was a teenager when he first qualified as a pilot, according to the website. He also studied aviation at the now-deprecated University of New Hampshire.
“Even if there was an absolutely impressive list of achievements in both the classic competitive aerobatics and the airshow world, Rob was the humblest with the singular goal of being better than yesterday,” a Facebook statement said.
The airshow this weekend is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors, the Air Force Base said a day before crash.
