Paul Bonhomme, Nigel Lamb, Matt Hall and Michael Goulian have posted illuminating blogs on their own websites reflecting upon Adilson Kindlemann's accident in Perth, the first in Red Bull Air Race World Championship history after 45 incident-free races. Aside from their obvious joy that Kindlemann emerged from the accident unscathed, all four pilots were full of praise over the lightening speed of the rescue operation. They also said it showed that Red Bull Air Race's uncompromising emphasis on safety paid off.
In his blog, Bonhomme said he has been flying at aviation competitions around the world for 24 years "and the mitigation to risk at the Red Bull Air Race is second to none." He dismissed some isolated criticism of the racing in British general aviation circles and said the race is attracting thousands of young people to aviation: "I meet more young people at one Air Race who are enthused about aviation than I meet at a year of airshows," Bonhomme wrote. "It has captured the imagination of so many folks who are otherwise untouched or uninterested in the formality and regulation of general aviation."
Lamb, in his blog, said he was immensely relieved to get word that Kindlemann was not hurt and noted the Brazilian also flies the same MXS-R type of plane that he has been using. Lamb said he was impressed with the plane's strength: "I also had the chance to inspect his MXS and took away a feeling of great comfort for the strength of the machine, especially the fuselage and cockpit area. From the engine firewall to the rear fuselage, it was intact with little damage. The water did pour in from a tear in the box surrounding the landing gear structure, which was torn on impact." Lamb noted the MXS stayed floating on top of the surface thanks to "huge sealed cavities in the wings including the fuel empty fuel tanks".
Matt Hall also praised the quick rescue operation and the tireless work to make the racing as safe as possible. "The fortunate result was due to all our of training, survival equipment and the professionalism of the rescue teams." He said the accident "proved that the Air Race is moving forward as the number one professional motorsport, as we re-entered the track the following morning for more training."
Mike Goulian posted an interesting piece just one day before the accident after taking the underwater safety training course in Perth with all the other pilots: "It’s pretty obvious that flying in the Red Bull Air Race might not be quite as safe as your typical office job. Pushing man & machine to theoretical limits over open water racetracks in front of millions of spectators is clearly not a job for a pessimist," Goulian wrote. "That being said, the mark of any true professional is how they prepare for, and act in an emergency situation. Simply hoping that an emergency never happens or just giving the 'it won’t happen to me' attitude will just not work."
Goulian added: "Believe it or not, all of the RBAR pilots and the RBAR organization as a whole, is more committed to safety than any other group of professionals that I have ever been involved with. In this group, there are no “hot shots” or risk takers. Perhaps that’s because all of the pilots are pretty comfortable in their own skin and the organizers know that “preventative maintenance” so to speak, is the key to minimizing risk."
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