Paul Mantz - Death

Death

Mantz died on July 8, 1965 while working on the movie The Flight of the Phoenix, produced and directed by Robert Aldrich. Flying a very unusual aircraft, the Tallmantz Phoenix P-1 built especially for the film, Mantz struck a small hillock while skimming over a desert site in Arizona for a second take. As Mantz attempted to recover by opening the throttle to its maximum the over-stressed aircraft broke in two and nosed over into the ground, killing Mantz instantly. (Bobby Rose, a stuntman standing behind Mantz in the cockpit and representing a character played by Hardy Kruger, was seriously injured.)

The FAA investigation noted Mantz's alcohol consumption before the flight and said the resulting impairment to his "efficiency and judgment" contributed to the accident. Thirteen years later his business partner Frank Tallman also died in an aviation mishap.

Some who were with Mantz during the shoot dispute that he was flying under the influence. It should be noted that the toxicology tests were performed several hours after the accident; at that time it was not understood that, in the absence of refrigeration, normal postmortem biochemical processes produce blood ethanol and yield a false indication of BAC level. The Civil Aeronautics Board findings of blood alcohol and pilot impairment may well be incorrect.

The final credits of The Flight of the Phoenix bear a tribute to Paul Mantz: "It should be remembered... that Paul Mantz, a fine man and a brilliant flyer, gave his life in the making of this film..."