File:Redbullairrace-2019-balaton-00.jpg

English: Red Bull Air Race 2019 Balaton speed aerobatics competition, Master Class practice on 2019-07-13. Aviator François Le Vot accidentally hits the pylon (cone marking the race course) with his airplane.

This is the middle one in a series of three pylons called the “chicane”, where the pilots take three rapid turns in alternating directions. The pilots fly through this part of the course three times during the one and a half lap long run. The pylons are made of light canvas and held up by air blown from below. They are composed of several rings attached by zippers, so the crew can replace the damaged sections within minutes. In the live runs of the contest, hitting the pylon would impose a severe time penalty. During practice though, pilots try to push the limits of possibility, so occasionally hitting the pylons is expected. Indeed, pylons were hit about four times during this two day long event.

This photo shows Le Vot's airplane and the top of the pylon a few centiseconds after the hit. See also a photo of the same pylon c. 0.17 seconds after this photo. See also a different photo of the same moment on Red Bull Air Race's homepage.