Airplane Crash at Reno NV Air Races RAW VIDEO

[Sombeech]

HD footage:





The crash is at 3:25 in this one, closer angle:

[Cirrus2000]

Quite a scary thing. A friend of mine was there, close to the crash, and sustained minor injuries. Two members of her group are in hospital (as of last night.) One of my co-workers had flown with the pilot of the crash aircraft in the past.

In a way, it's surprising that this hasn't happened before. Lots of kinetic energy, and while most of the time the vectors are away from the crowd, that can't always be the case in an air race. It wouldn't surprise me if the event is pretty much done forever.

[Sombeech]

Oh wow so it was a race and not just a stunt event huh? Dang man. Scary stuff. Too bad this had to happen.

[bbennett]

Sad. Obviously, there's a significant inherent risk to high-speed, low-level flight. However when you add this to pilots intentionally pushing their limits and that of the aircrafts, plus a crowd of spectators, it's a recipe for disaster. I would think that anyone involved in the air races acknowledges this.

This is such a cool event. I sincerely hope that this isn't the end of it.

[Cirrus2000]

Oh wow so it was a race and not just a stunt event huh? Dang man. Scary stuff. Too bad this had to happen.

Yeah - major race, very popular in the aviation - and speed junkie - crowd.

Sad. Obviously, there's a significant inherent risk to high-speed, low-level flight. However when you add this to pilots intentionally pushing their limits and that of the aircrafts, plus a crowd of spectators, it's a recipe for disaster. I would think that anyone involved in the air races acknowledges this.

I'm sure this will be discussed, but another risk factor is age - both of pilots and airframes. A 74 year old pilot in a 65+ year old aircraft, doing 500 mph and pulling lots of Gs in the corners - something's going to eventually give, whether it's organic or not. Maintenance of both pilots and airframes is great, but eventually both will fatigue.

[Iceaxe]

The hot young stripper wife and I usually attend the Reno Air Races as they are a great weekend. But I'm happy we missed this year. A P-51 Mustang crashed into the grandstands.

...sad....

Air racing was extremely popular after WWII but Reno is pretty much the last race left. I'm guessing this might put the final nail in the sports coffin.

[Iceaxe]

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The death toll in the terrifying crash of a World War II-era plane during a Reno air race has risen to at least nine people, including the pilot and eight spectators, authorities said Saturday.

The deaths include seven who were killed on the tarmac and two others who died at hospitals, Reno Deputy Police Chief Dave Evans said.

The new death toll was announced at a briefing with local and federal investigators a day after the Friday afternoon crash. Authorities previously said that three people had perished in the crash.

Investigators said they were examining the site, gathering information about the crash at the edge of a grandstand area Friday. Authorities were encouraged by the large number of photos and videos available to them.

Federal investigators were looking into what caused the 74-year-old pilot to lose control of his plane during the race.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Terry Williams told The Associated Press Saturday that a team has arrived from Washington to join regional officials. He said it's too early to say what caused the crash, though event organizers suggested a mechanical problem.

As thousands watched in horror, the P-51 Mustang suddenly pitched upward, rolled and nose-dived toward the crowded grandstand. It then slammed into the tarmac and blew to pieces in front the pilot's family and a tight-knit group of friends who attend the annual event.

It appears that other than the pilot, the injuries and deaths were caused by flying parts of the disintegrating plane — not a direct hit.

"It came down directly at us. As I looked down, I saw the spinner, the wings, the canopy just coming right at us. It hit directly in front of us, probably 50 to 75 feet," Ryan Harris, of Round Mountain, Nev., told the AP.

"The next thing I saw was a wall of debris going up in the air. That's what I got splashed with. In the wall of debris noticed there were pieces of flesh."

Bloodied bodies spread across the area as people tended to the victims and ambulances rushed to the scene. Video and photos of the crash were captured by several people in the stands, and the horrific images of the wreckage were transmitted around the world within minutes.

John Townes, a Reno pilot, said the plane didn't sound right.

"It wasn't quite vertical. It was at a very slight angle and because of that I think it probably saved a lot of people," he said.

"Normally when you see an air crash, you see recognizable wreckage. There was nothing, just little bits of metal."

Prior to Friday, 19 people had been killed at the National Championship Air Races since their start 1964, organizers said, at least two in P-51s. In 1999, a Mustang disintegrated during a race, scattering debris and damaging a house. In 1994, one of the planes crashed next to a runway after engine failure sprayed the windshield with oil.

Organizers softened two of the curves pilots negotiate after crashes into nearby neighborhoods in 1998 and the one in 1999. In 2007 and 2008, four pilots were killed at the races, prompting local school officials to consider barring student field trips to the event.

Friday's crash was the first time spectators were killed or seriously injured.

Planes at the yearly event fly wingtip-to-wingtip as low as 50 feet off the sagebrush at speeds sometimes surpassing 500 mph. Pilots follow an oval path around pylons, with distances and speeds depending on the class of aircraft.

Mike Houghton, president and CEO of Reno Air Races, said there appeared to be a "problem with the aircraft that caused it to go out of control." He did not elaborate.

The rest of the races, which bring in tens of millions of dollars for the local economy, were canceled.

Tim O'Brien of Grass Valley, Calif., who is chairman of an air show in his hometown and photographed Friday's races, said the P-51 was racing six other planes and was in the process of moving from third place into second when it pitched violently upward, rolled and then headed straight down.

From the photos he took, O'Brien said it looked like a piece of the plane's tail called a "trim tab" had fallen off. He believes that's what caused the plane's sudden climb.

When the aircraft hit the ground, there was a "big explosion but no fire," O'Brien said.

"The propeller (was) spinning very fast, and there was a lot of mass coming down all at once," he said. It was a "very violent impact."

Maureen Higgins, of Alabama, who has been coming to the air races for 16 years, said the pilot was on his third lap when he lost control.

"Obviously he had no control. He was wobbling. He went upside down and then he headed straight for us, straight at the grandstand."

She was sitting about 30 yards away from the crash and watched in horror as the man in front of her started bleeding after debris hit him in the head.

"I saw body parts and gore like you wouldn't believe it. I'm talking an arm, a leg," Higgins said. "The alive people were missing body parts. I am not kidding you. It was gore. Unbelievable gore."

Stephanie Kruse, a spokeswoman for the Regional Emergency Medical Service Authority, told The Associated Press that emergency crews took a total of 56 injury victims to three hospitals. She said they also observed a number of people being transported by private vehicle, and those people were not included in the count.

Leeward, of Ocala, Fla., was a veteran airman and movie stunt pilot who named his P-51 Mustang fighter plane the "Galloping Ghost," Houghton said.

The Mustang that crashed had minor crash almost exactly 40 years ago in Reno after its engine failed. According to two websites that track P-51s that are still flying, it made a belly landing away from the airport. The NTSB report on the Sept. 18, 1970, incident says the engine failed during an air race and it crash landed short of the runway.

P-51 historian Dick Phillips of Burnsville, Minn., said on Saturday that the plane had had several new engines since then as well as a new canopy and other modifications.

Leeward, the owner of the Leeward Air Ranch Racing Team, was a well-known racing pilot. His website says he has flown more than 120 races and served as a stunt pilot for numerous movies, including "Amelia" and "Cloud Dancer."

In an interview with the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner last year, he described how he has flown 250 types of planes and has a particular fondness for the P-51, which came into the war relatively late and was used as a long-range bomber escort over Europe. Among the famous pilots of the hot new fighter was WWII double ace Chuck Yeager.

"They're more fun. More speed, more challenge. Speed, speed and more speed," Leeward said.

He talked about racing strategy in an interview Thursday with LiveAirShow TV while standing in front of his plane.

"Right now I think we've calculated out, we're as fast as anybody in the field, or maybe even a little faster," he said. "But uh, to start with, we didn't really want to show our hand until about Saturday or Sunday. We've been playing poker since last Monday. And uh so, it's ready, we're ready to show a couple more cards, so we'll see on Friday what happens, and on Saturday we'll probably go ahead and play our third ace, and on Sunday we'll do our fourth ace."

Houghton described Leeward as a good friend.

"Everybody knows him. It's a tight-knit family. He's been here for a long, long time," Houghton said.

He also said Leeward was a "very qualified, very experienced pilot" who was in good medical condition. He suggested Leeward would have made every effort to avoid casualties on the ground if he knew he was going to crash.

"If it was in Jimmy's power, he would have done everything he possibly could," Houghton said.

The National Championship Air Races draws thousands of people to Reno every September to watch various military and civilian planes race.

The FAA and air race organizers spend months preparing for air races as they develop a plan involving pilot qualification, training and testing along with a layout for the course. The FAA inspects pilots' practice runs and briefs pilots on the route maneuvers and emergency procedures.

Mike French, a private pilot, was his way to the races late Friday when he learned they were canceled after the crash.

"It's unfortunate, tragic in so many ways," said French, 41, of Wellington, Colo.

It would have been his fifth trip and the first for his 8-year-old son, Myles. "He really wanted to go," the dad said.

French said he had the "Galloping Ghost" P-51 image as his computer screensaver.

"It's the weirdest thing," he said. "I just liked the looks of the aircraft."
___
Associated Press writers contributing to this report include Joshua Freed in Minneapolis, Haven Daley and Ken Ritter in Reno, and Cristina Silva and Oskar Garcia in Las Vegas.

[jman]

There is going to be a big litigation, and everyone suing Reno Air Racing for endangerment......it's in the air, I can smell it.

[bbennett]

[Sombeech]

Looks like it might have been some tail damaged that caused the problem

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011...h-tail-tab.cnn

[Iceaxe]

FWIW: The plane that crashed had been highly modified for racing. The wings had been clipped (shorten) about 3' to reduce aero drag and the air scoop under the belly that gives the Mustang its distinctive look had been shaved (removed) to decrease aero drag. Those are just a few of the noticable modifications they make to the Unlimited planes for racing.

[Scott Card]

I was going to say that didn't look like the models I used to build of the WWII P-51 Mustangs when I was a kid. Thanks for the clarification.

This is really sad.

[Iceaxe]

They are just lucky this happened on Friday. The Saturday and Sunday crowds are 5 times the Friday crowds and the area where the plane hit would have been packed solid.

[REDFOX]

One of my friends and also neighbor has been attending this event for 24 years. He was lucky to have been a little more than 100 yards away from this trajedy.

[denaliguide]

while the trim tab coming off may have played a part, i saw a photo just before impact (like the one bbennet posted) where you could not see the pilot in the cockpit. it has been speculated that perhaps the back of the seat broke under high g forces and the pilot had fallen back and been unable to reach the controls. this is why as part of your before takeoff checklist is to make sure that seat and seat backs are locked in position. it is a rude feeling to have your seat slide backwards unexpectedly.

[Sombeech]

Whoa dang, check this out. I've been wondering when better angles would come out.



Here's the video from liveleak.com, watch out for the related videos at the end, some may be NSFW although they currently seem fine:

[Iceaxe]

it has been speculated that perhaps the back of the seat broke under high g forces and the pilot had fallen back and been unable to reach the controls.

My one and only near miss in an airplane happened when the pilots seat broke. We were taking off out of Page AZ in a Cessna 182 (I believe). The woman sitting behind the pilot pulled on the back of the pilots seat as we became airborne, the seat fell back with the pilot, who pulled the controls back on a heavily loaded plane, which caused the plane to stall..... it was some scarely stuff....

[denaliguide]

that would get our attention.