A witness stated that the airplane was observed on a low pass down the runway at about 900 to 1,000 feet. The pilot then made three barrel rolls and lost altitude on all three rolls. The pilot remained in a closed traffic pattern and made a second pass down the runway at about 100 to 200 feet. The airplane was observed to enter a pull-up and a barrel roll to the left. According to information from witness reports, when the airplane was at the 90-degree point, it entered a descent and crashed into the ground. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of a precrash failure or malfunction. The pilot had limited experience performing aerobatic flight, and he had only about 6 hours of flight time in this make and model of airplane. A colleague observed that when the pilot performed barrel roll maneuvers on previous flights, the airplane was 'dishing out and losing . . . altitude on a regular basis.' The colleague said that he had 'informed' the pilot that he should obtain some dual instruction. A toxicology test of the pilot's blood showed an alcohol level of 0.10%.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

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