The body of a missing U.S. stunt pilot was found in a lake in northeast China Friday after he got in accident practicing one of his tricks Tuesday.
David Riggs was a credible stunt pilot in Hollywood but lost his U.S. pilot’s license in November for selling rides in his plane without permission.
According to Associated Press, Riggs was in China to participate in an airshow near the city of Shenyang Friday. Divers from the Beihai Rescue Bureau found his body at the bottom of Lake Caihu.
Riggs’ young female Chinese translator was with him during the crash. Her body was pulled from the water but she later died in the hospital.
Sky News reports that Riggs was rehearsing a stunt in which the wheels of his single-engine Lancair 320 plane drag along the surface of the lake at a very high speed.
The trick went terribly wrong and the plane broke into pieces at impact. Riggs took off when light rain had started, but there is no evidence that he violated any flying regulations.