Mustang crashes into crowd at Reno air races

[stona]

Not good,not good at all. Seems some people have lost their lives,including the pilot.

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Steve

[Guest]

Yes very sad for the family of the pilot & those the spectators killed & injured.

From reports there has been an amount if criticism of the organisation of this show. A disaster waiting to happen as some one put it.

The Jersey B of B show used to have the aircraft passing over the crowd. Now they are all over the sea area of the bay. Accidents are going to happen & there is always going to be that risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time vis a vis the Welsh miners.

Laurie

[Vaughan]

Not wishing to be disrespectful but why were they racing a modified 65 year aircraft that is part of our history. There are plenty of modern aircraft that could have been used. The pilot was 80 and who know he might of had a heart attack or as they are suggesting it could have been mechanical failure I suspect we will never know.

Vaughan.

[stona]

They've been racing these modified P-51s for years. At the end of the war there were plenty about and they were sold off cheap. Some even ended up as crop sprayers which would make an interesting model subject.

It's a tragedy for those affected by the accident and may well spell the end of the Reno races. There have been moves over the last several years to try and stop them.

We'll have to wait for the investigations to take place,hopefully they will establish what happened. Unhelpful speculation has already started in some places in cyber space.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Sadly I heard there has been another crash at Reno WWII-era plane pilot dies at W.Va. air show - Yahoo! News apparently a T-28 crashed

[stona]

Sad. Not the same show. Reno is air racing rather than a display,not that that really matters when people lose their lives.

Not long ago a wingwalker died in The States when he fell making a transfer from an aeroplane( I suppose airplane over there) to a helicopter. We lost a Red Arrow pilot this side of the pond. I worry about the future of many of these events,particularly the racing,the FAA has had Reno in its sights for some time.

I love to see old aircraft fly and I still get a thrill from a modern display but I don't want to see people die. There comes a point,even for an enthusiast like me,when you have to wonder if it's worth it.

Steve

[Dave W]

I love to see old aircraft flying as well.My boss flew as flight engineer in 'Sally B' for a number of years and says the crews get a lot of pleasure from flying and displaying them for the public. Be a sad day if they are grounded .

[Guest]

link is not working anymore

[Ian M]

link is not working anymore

Its from september last year, so I guess the site has moved on buy now to more relevant headlines.

Ian M

[stona]

The NTSB have made a report on the incident summarised here.

Board Meeting on 2011 Reno Air Race Accident

Unreported modifications to the airframe and,ultimately,some re-used and aged locking nuts are the likely cause of the crash.

Cheers

Steve