Arthur Everett Scholl (December 24, 1931 – September 16, 1985) was an American aerobatic pilot, aerial cameraman, flight instructor and educator based in Southern California. He died during the filming of Top Gun when his Pitts S-2 camera plane failed to recover from a flat spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean. Scholl, 53, had entered the spin intentionally in order to capture it on film using onboard cameras. Observers watched the plane continue to spin as it descended past the planned recovery altitude. Scholl's last words over the radio were "I have a problem — I have a real problem", after which the plane impacted the ocean. The exact cause of the crash was never determined. Neither the aircraft nor Scholl's body were ever recovered.
Photo by Dallas Corbitt