General Deadly Crash at Reno Air Show

[FireCat]

RENO, Nev. — It was, for fans and followers of the high-speed sport of air racing, a sure sign of serious trouble: a vintage P-51
Mustang, a World War II fighter known as the “Cadillac of the Skies,” pitching violently skyward, in a frantic effort by the pilot to gain altitude — and to buy time.

And then, just seconds later, that fight — and the flight — was over, as the plane plunged into a crowd assembled at the National Championship Air Races and Air Show in Reno.

“I saw him pull up and then tip over to the right,” said Howard Stubble, a member of a competing team. “And then our hearts stopped, because we knew what was coming.”

Federal investigators arrived here on Saturday at the site of a deadly accident, which killed at least nine people, including the pilot, and injured dozens of spectators.
The Reno police said during a news conference Saturday afternoon that the deaths included seven people who were killed on the tarmac, including the pilot, and two who died at local hospitals.


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What the hell is an 80 year old man doing in the race?

 

[camelCase]

Nothing wrong with him being in the race.
The very fact he pulled up for no real reason probably means that he knew something was wrong with the air craft.
Valiant, I must say.

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

What the hell is an 80 year old man doing in the race?

Authorities said it appears a mechanical failure with the P-51 Mustang — a class of fighter plane that can fly in excess of 500 mph (800 kph) — was to blame. Some credit the pilot, Jimmy Leeward, with preventing the crash from being far more deadly.
"If he wouldn't have pulled up, he would have taken out the entire bleacher section," said Tim Linville, 48, of Reno, who watched the race with his two daughters.

...

 

[shinami]

Was hoping for a video. Sad thing, but still would've been an interesting sight.

EDIT: Found it. I cringed watching it.

[video=youtube;wEPpPUTqd6M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEPpPUTqd6M[/video]

 

[FireCat]

Well, Jedimindtrixxx They only said it appeared to be a mechanical failure.

Anyways

The P-51 Mustang dubbed The Galloping Ghost appeared to lose a piece of its tail before the crash, killing pilot Jimmy Leeward, and eight spectators.

So far, two of the spectators have been identified. Michael Wogan, 22, of Scottsdale, Arizona, had muscular dystrophy and was in a wheelchair the VIP section when the plane crashed, his family said. The Washoe County, Nev., medical examiner identified the other victim as Greg Morcom of Washington state, a first-time spectator, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Officials said 69 people were treated at hospitals, including 36 who have been released and 31 who remain there. Nine were in critical condition late Saturday.

Doctors who treated the injured said it was among the most severe situations they had ever seen because of the large number of people.

 

[camelCase]

...appeared to lose a piece of its tail before the crash...

Yeah, not a mechanical failure if the tail goes out =)

 

[xPass]

So this doesn't seem to be a natural accident, that's what you guys mean?

 

[FireCat]

So this doesn't seem to be a natural accident, that's what you guys mean?

Well, It's still under investigation. So let's see later what the say.

The videos and photos could also play a role in the investigation into what caused the aircraft to crash. One possible clue: Photos taken of the plane before the crash show damage to the tail section,
although it is not yet known if the damage was enough to cause the plane to lose control. A preliminary report on the cause could be released later this week, but a full-fledged investigation will take months to complete.

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[Varine]

So this doesn't seem to be a natural accident, that's what you guys mean?

How is a plane crash in any way a natural accident?

 

[xPass]

How is a plane crash in any way a natural accident?

I mean those kind of a nobody-fiddled-with-em sort of accidents as non-natural.