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DAYTON — Stunt pilot Jim LeRoy's failure to maintain clearance from the ground during an aerobatics routine caused his fatal crash at the Dayton Air Show last July, but the presence of airborne smoke contributed to the accident, a federal investigation has concluded.

The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of the July 28, 2007, accident identified as contributing factors the "pilot's restricted ability to see the terrain," and "smoke oil" present in the air where the performers were flying at Dayton International Airport. Aerobatics performers commonly distribute smoke oil in the air as a visual effect during the routines they fly at air shows.

Winds were described as light when the accident occurred, the NTSB said in its report, dated April 30. An examination of LeRoy's 400-horsepower, single-seat biplane, modified from a stock Pitts S2S aircraft, found no indication of problems that would have affected its operation, the NTSB said.

The Montgomery County coroner did an autopsy and ruled the day after the crash that LeRoy, 46, of Lake City, Fla., was killed immediately by the 200 mph crash impact.

The NTSB said that a forensic examination of a blood sample from LeRoy detected only the presence of ibuprofen, a common pain reliever.

John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows, an industry organization for air shows which works with aerobatics performers, said he wasn't surprised by the NTSB report's findings.

Despite LeRoy's death, industry officials see no reason to change the aerobatics procedures used at air shows, Cudahy said by telephone Tuesday, May 6, from his office in Leesburg, Va. The performers are experienced professionals who fly their routines weekly and must abide by Federal Aviation Administration requirements and safety precautions, Cudahy said Tuesday, May 6.

Air show officials and aerobatics discussed the LeRoy crash in detail during an annual meeting in December 2007 and aerobatics pilots have viewed videotapes of the accident, Cudahy said.

"Before we make any change, it would come from the people who fly in this environment on a consistent basis," Cudahy said. "The NTSB has the capacity to recommend a change, and they did not do so."

Keith Holloway, an NTSB spokesman in Washington, agreed that the agency had not seen fit to recommend any changes in response to the LeRoy accident. Holloway did not elaborate.

The acts the Dayton Air Show hires are responsible for adhering to federal safety requirements, said Terry Grevious, the show's executive director.

The FAA's current safety requirements intended to protect crowds at air shows have been in use for decades. The rules require that pilots stay anywhere from 500 feet to 1,500 feet from the crowds, depending on the speed and power of the aircraft, and that they not fly in the direction of the crowds.

The rules were prompted by a Sept. 15, 1951, accident in which 19 spectators and the pilot died at an air show in Flagler, Colo., when a stunt plane plowed through the crowd. Since that time, no spectator at an air show has been killed, according to the International Council of Air Shows.

LeRoy crashed while flying in a two-plane routine, paired with fellow stunt pilot Skip Stewart, in an act named "Codename: Mary's Lamb."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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