P-51 crash at Reno Air Races

[Texman]

This afternoon, the P-51 "Galloping Ghost", piloted by Jimmy Leeward, crashed into the box seats at the Reno air races. Video shows
the aircraft made a climbing right turn, then nosed straight into the
stands.

There is still no word on fatalities, but there are many injured, and it is being treated as a mass casualty situation.

[willygoat]

yikes! Not a great time to be in the "entertainment" side of aviation I guess. I hope they recover quickly and that the Reno races aren't tarnished. They are such a great tradition.

[Spaceguy5]

Apparently 5 reported dead (which includes the pilot) x.x

At least 5 killed at Reno air show, authorities say - latimes.com (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/reno-air-crash-death-reports.html)

http://youtu.be/rCNePeKn3Tg

http://youtu.be/nTzX35wOGas

[alpinemike]

I was soo bummed to see this today. Heart breaking and tragic. Sometimes life ain't fair. I'll be paying for Jimmy, His family, fans, and the spectators. I'll miss the "Ghost" too. Sure was pretty for a racing horse. Willy is right it's a tough year for aviation "entertainment"!!!!

[Zathros]

74 years old is too old to be racing aircraft. That is absolutely ridiculous. Even if it turns out to be mechanical failure, at 74, your responses and decision process as to what the problem may be etc. is compromised. I have flow with Pilots that old. I was always told, bring an axe, that way, when they have a heart attack, you can chop off their hands and get control of the plane. G.A> is a diferent story. Racing planes, would a 74 year old man be allowed to race in any other sport, like F1, motorcycle races. There is a responsibility for pilots to determine their medical condition, unfortunately, many push it too fat. I stopped flying, I did not lose my medical. I just figured, it was time. An emotionally hard decision, intellectually, a breeze. Since he was the Pilot In Command, the race worth status and condition of the plane was his responsibility. That is not subjective, that is the law.

(imagery: you get a heart attack, death grip on the yoke, pull it towards your chest, you crash)

[josh]

By all appearances, he most likely suffered at heart attack(or other) in the cockpit, one of the photos shows the plane nose down, no one visible in the cockpit and the control surfaces are "level"? very tragic day for the air races.

[Zathros]

As a doctor once told me, after 65, all bets are off.

[OhioMike]

Then of course theres the ongoing HOT debate......Should anybody be flying 65 plus year old air planes, or should they be in museums???

[murphyaa]

It's hard enough to find any of the old classic airplanes anymore. One of the biggest air museums in the US, Pima Air and Space, actually had to build their own P-51 because whole examples are so hard to find.

[GreggCA]

ABC news has shown a hi res photo of the plane nearly inverted with left side fuselage damage from the cockpit back to the elevator... you can see the trim tab on the left side elevator is tearing off, being held on only on one side. Could it be airborne debris from another plane hit the Galloping Ghost in flight? What a sad day and now a bad memory for so many.. Just awfull..

Gregg

[eagleclaw4935]

My prayers are with the families of the deceased.This is truly unfortunate.

[birder]

This is very sad news. These older airplanes are indeed risky, flying at that speed. I know a 51 pilot who quit over fears of this happening to him (and he was qualified as a 51 instructor at the time). He told me he had lost too many friends, but he still flies and always will, not in WWII p51's though.

[peter taft]

Yes very tragic indeed. There had been a modification to this aircraft.... took some out of the fuselage to get higher speeds, could this have anything to do with the crash ? yes make it go faster, but is the rest of her airframe upto this i wonder ?

[Nemesis7485]

As far as I'm aware, most of the air racing warbirds are tricked out for max performance in some way. I doubt they would be competitive in an "out of the box" config.

I have to agree with the previous poster who thinks there should be age limits on piloting, ESPECIALLY this kind of flying. The G-forces alone that these guys are pulling will be straining the pants off even the young fit guy's bodies.

My thoughts are with the injured and dead but also at the sad loss of yet another irreplaceable piece of history.

[peter taft]

As far as I'm aware, most of the air racing warbirds are tricked out for max performance in some way. I doubt they would be competitive in an "out of the box" config.

I have to agree with the previous poster who thinks there should be age limits on piloting, ESPECIALLY this kind of flying. The G-forces alone that these guys are pulling will be straining the pants off even the young fit guy's bodies.

My thoughts are with the injured and dead but also at the sad loss of yet another irreplaceable piece of history.

Does anyone know the max 'G' these birds can pull - AFTER the mods are made to the aircraft - and the BEFORE so we can compare !

[richkat]

I'm sorry to say the death toll has reached 9,pray for the families of all. Was looking at pics on the net and found one showing the 51 and the tail wheel is in the down position...something was going wrong with it! don't think this was pilot error, all reports say the pilot was in great shape looks like maybe something broke...Rich

[jaffro]

Yes very sad but I have to agree... they are talking over here about re-testing car drivers in their 60's as they are a danger to others on the road and yet it's still acceptable for someone nearly 1.5x that age to jump into a plane almost as old as he is and fly it at top speed, low to the ground above grandstands full of spectators.

Supposedly the disclaimer on the back of tickets to these types of events makes it "ok".

[wag]

There was a photo posted on another forum that showed one of the elevator trim tabs breaking off. I guess we'll find out more after the investigation. Hopefully there will be no more deaths and the injured can recover and get back to normal quickly.
Wayne

[richkat]

Jaffro, if they would test car drivers even 1/10 as tough as they do these pilots there would be a LOT MORE ROOM on our highways....Rich

[josh]

A t-28 also went down in W. Virginia at another air show.

[jaffro]

richkat, I couldn't agree more... as a truck driver myself, I get a "widescreen" elevated view of the stupid things car drivers do, all day, every day. Some of them just need to spend an hour in a truck so they can see for themselves the potential accidents they are constantly almost causing.

[airdave]

I must say, the comments about age are really disappointing.
My Father has lost his Car Drivers license, not because he is 75, but because he has Alzheimers.

A 75 year old Aircraft Pilot is checked and certified in the same manner as any other Pilot.
If he passes the tests, then thats good enough for me.
And if he's got 50 years of flying experience, then thats even better!

Shame on you all for criticizing him because of age.

And as far as heart Attacks go...
we have 20 year B-Ball players dropping dead on the courts from heart attacks.


Please....I don't want start a discussion on age, heartattacks and Pilot licenses but judging this whole event on his age is ridiculous.

People who know Jimmy Leeward have stated how experienced and qualified he was.

I have already seen and heard a dozen different eyewitness reports that state the plane suffered a mechanical problem
and one eyewitness even stated that when the aircraft was coming down toward the crowds it appeared to deflect and rise as if an attempt was made to steer the aircraft away from the Grandstands.

Heres one such report on the idea of mechanical failure
(listen to the more credible second witness)
b4fJVMR5Nks

I can't find an earlier eyewitness report video that I saw,
but heres a second I found that reports the aircraft pulled up enough to clear the main grandstand.
[statement at the end of the video]
WPdKMB-FQmE

[Zathros]

You don't tell people what to say and how to think. Not only have I piloted aircraft, I also ran an FBO for 2 years. It is incumbent on Pilots to self regulate themselves. Going for a ride in an aircraft is not the same thing as the stress of preparing and racing aircraft, especially in a race, such as the "Reno Air Race".

I have seen pilots of all ages stop flying when they knew "they" should. No FAA medical exam would have found a problem because FAA exams are extremely easy to get and getting certified is based on a doctor who does FAA exams passing you. I also have seem many pilots that should have stopped flying who did not and passed the FAA exam.

Until recently the person in Danbury Ct. who did the majority of the final approval for licenses, after the training and putting in your hours, was 84 years old. He could sure as hell fly, but if he tried to race, he would be in the news.

Shame on you for feeling you have the right to dictate what opinions and comments should be. Shame on you for denouncing those who have experience in this area, voicing their opinions and sharing them. What experience do you have in this area that would allow you to be an authority. I certainly am not. I also am not denouncing anyone for voicing their opinion.

You are required to take an FAA exam ever 2 years. Do you know how much your body can change in 2 years? Even if it turns out that the plane had mechanical failure. It was his plane, he was the pilot In Command. Read up on that, find out what it means, then you will understand some of what they law is on flying aircraft.

74 is too old to be racing aircraft, no one mentioned GA (General Aviation). Everyone in is entitled to share their opinion erroneous or not and Kudos to those that do. Shame on no one. Shame on members denouncing those who express themselves.

Some one mentioned "Debris possibly striking the aircraft". The odds of that happening mid air are, outside of a war time scenario, are astronomical. That picture seems to show come kind of structural failure, which could be from too many g's in the wrong direction, or from modifications done to the aircraft.

FAA exams rely on the candidate divulging all their medical History in a honest manner. The medical community is not all linked together, the FAA examiner has no access to what other doctors may know, unless you tell them.

[airdave]

I didn't tell or dictate to anyone what to think...I just gave my opinion on what you think.

"Everyone in is entitled to share their opinion erroneous or not and Kudos to those that do."
...apparently not me though?