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Reno Air Race Disaster!

MANT!

MANT!

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At about 4:30PM an Unlimited class P-51 "Galloping Ghost" crashed into the crowd during a qualifying round ..the pilot is confirmed dead, and more than 60 people injured, some in "Very Critical Condition"
Not Safe for Work (Language)
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zusClmg4IQg[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndd9PVDM3jU[/yt]

More deaths are expected..
 
Two spectators were killed as well as the pilot. But I doubt it will stop at three. :( It looks horrible.
 
Press Conference complete
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gGpJLxCF34[/yt]
 
Condolence to all, and prayers no one else dies.
this is terrible.

I wonder if this will put and end to these air races?
And I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
 
Last edited:
The pilot appears to have had mechanical or medical trouble..he began his pull out (trading speed for altitude/time) and lost total control, the engine was still at full rev
when he hit the ramp.. the pilot was 80 years old..so a medical problem isn't out of the question...


prayers to his family and all the victims of this accident
 
Terrible news. My boyfriend's late father participated in the Reno Air Races often and won the gold one year. It was actually another year that had a bad crash, though luckily the pilot survived. I really hope we don't hear of any more casualties.
 
MANT! said:
The pilot appears to have had mechanical or medical trouble..he began his pull out (trading speed for altitude/time) and lost total control, the engine was still at full rev
when he hit the ramp.. the pilot was 80 years old..so a medical problem isn't out of the question...


prayers to his family and all the victims of this accident
Click to expand...

Sounds like he called "MayDay", and at some point the elevator separated from the air frame. I don't know if that was before or after the mayday call.
 
Ghost07 said:
This article says he was 74 and healthy...
Click to expand...

That is what I heard as well. They shows interview clips of him on MSNBC, and he seemed capable to me.

I wish there was more that could be done to protect crowds during air shows, as this wasn't the first disaster at one and will probably not be the last. I think anything to protect the crowd would ruin the draw of the shows, which seems to be being outdoors and seeing the planes up close.

I'm glad there were only 2 deaths. Hopefully nobody was seriously injured or crippled!
 
Gil T.Azell said:
I wonder if this will put and end to these air races?
Click to expand...

Highly unlikely. The correct response would be to evaluate what went wrong, and take steps to avoid it in the future. If it was, in fact, an elevator separation than a better preflight inspection would have caught it.

And I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
Click to expand...

Why? The pilots who fly in these things are some of the best in the world.
 
I've been to many airshows/air races, I'm an aviation addict (heck I work in the field)..
It's horrible when these things happen, but not unexpected...there is only so much that can be done for public safety at these events that have large machines hurtling by at high velocities.. It looks as if everything that could possibly be done was done..


The only way to make things safer is to cancel the thing..and that probably won't happen...
 
total deaths stand at 9 with 7 more in critical condition..

NTSB is looking into the possibility that an elevator trim tab may have fallen off the aircraft, causing the pilot to lose control..

GallopingGhostMissingpart.png


LiveLeak-dot-com-d9b10fe164b5-renocrashstill1.jpg
 
I'm surprised they even allow a turn within radius of the crowed and only allow crowds on the straightaways.
 
Actually the radius of the turn is far from the crowd...again it was an out of control aircraft that behaved like a meteor..

course2002.jpg


The Grandstand is located across the runway from the "home pylon" on what is normally the parking ramp, well away from most normal danger areas..In fact it exceeds the FAA distance requirement for most normal airshows..
 
Hum, good information there. That isn't what it looks like in the video. It looks like the P-51 lost control on turn 775/886 and went right for the crowd by 9976
 
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