Reno race crash in front of grandstands

[trafficinsight]

I don't even know what to say to this... Just that you wouldn't get it.



Some of our guys on the ground over there concur with the trim tab flutter. It's a shame, we were just talking about Jimmy's Mustang fly in...

Just for accuracy's sake, I've now read that the piece that is missing was not a trim tab, but rather a piece that was added to delete the trim tab on that side. The effect is the same.

And for those bashing air racers for "chopping up historic airframes" etc. Most of the airframes that are used in racing were either wrecks at one time, or have been racers for a long long time. The ones that aren't are typically modified with the goal of being able to return them to stock, some even have been in recent years. If it weren't for racers, both air and in the old days unlimited hydroplane, many of the engines in use wouldn't exist and parts would have been scrapped long ago. Don't overlook the contribution air racing makes to the vintage warbird world. Also, racing is a community that brings people from all over the world together the way museums don't.

There is nothing like the sound of a healthy R-3350 or Merlin at full tilt as it passes the stands, it saddens me to think that I may never hear it again.

 

[RDoug]

What a sad, tragic loss. I've wanted to go to the Reno Air Races for years, but have never gotten around to it. Really, really sad. The whole thing immediately reminded me of the horrendous Le Mans disaster of 1955, or the even the Ramstein Air Show Disaster of 1988.

Tallflyer—glad to hear that your friend got out relatively unscathed.

For those who've never seen the Le Mans videos, here's an old Pathé newsreel report (crash commentary begins at 1:10). I'm not going to post a link to the Ramstein disaster, as I'm sure all of you have seen that one ad nauseum and ad infinitum:

[video=youtube;FXtb5eDUuQw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXtb5eDUuQw[/video]

Anyway, I guess my point in bringing up these old disasters (beyond the obvious mental tie-in in that catastrophe unfortunately encompassed the spectators as well) is that such spectacles are always accompanied by at least a tinge of danger. But we don't ban such spectacles after disaster strikes; we learn from the disaster and seek ways to improve safety. It would be a second tragedy to Jimmy Leeward's memory to ban the sport he so loved, in my humble opinion.

 

[WacoFan]

The 1955 Le Mans thing was horrible, and Ramstein the worst. Bill Odom, flying Beguine in 1949 slammed into a house killing a woman and her infant daughter. After that you saw the races move to the desert (Mojave, Reno). I'm not sure you can make it much safer without making the event near unwatchable (by moving the crowd incredibly far from the course). Even at that, a Mustang going 490+ can cover a lot of ground in a hurry so it is just one of those "Stuff happens" deals - fluke type thing. A similar thing happened with a plane named Voodoo a handful of years ago - modified Mustang lost its elevator trim causing a violent pitch up and I think the pilot even passed out for a moment. Not sure if I'm recalling correctly.

 

[trafficinsight]

The 1955 Le Mans thing was horrible, and Ramstein the worst. Bill Odom, flying Beguine in 1949 slammed into a house killing a woman and her infant daughter. After that you saw the races move to the desert (Mojave, Reno). I'm not sure you can make it much safer without making the event near unwatchable (by moving the crowd incredibly far from the course). Even at that, a Mustang going 490+ can cover a lot of ground in a hurry so it is just one of those "Stuff happens" deals - fluke type thing. A similar thing happened with a plane named Voodoo a handful of years ago - modified Mustang lost its elevator trim causing a violent pitch up and I think the pilot even passed out for a moment. Not sure if I'm recalling correctly.

You recall correctly, the violent pitch up caused the pilot to black out but luckily he came to in time to recover


Sent from 1865 by telegraph....

 

[Brian29]

Even at that, a Mustang going 490+ can cover a lot of ground in a hurry so it is just one of those "Stuff happens" deals - fluke type thing.

Exactly. The issue with the plane, whatever it may have been, unfortunitly happened in the ONE turn where the aircraft really face toward the crowd. I suppose thats the difference between a crash and a disaster, things going wrong at the worst possible time/place.

 

[Hacker15e]

RIP to the victims. I, for one, will be glad to see Reno shut down. The reason is that air racing butchers historic aircraft as they are converted into racers and grenades rare engines as they are pushed well beyond their design limits.

While I agree with respect to the engines, you couldn't be further off base with respect to the airframes.

More warbird airframes have been SAVED by racing than have been "butchered"...in fact, numerous airframes that otherwise would have been total write-offs as wrecks and sent to the smelter exist today simply because they were resurrected to be racers.

Seriously -- go look at the history of individual unlimiteds since 1964 and compare the numbers of those that have been irrevocably damaged or destroyed and compare it to the list of aircraft that were resurrected from the grave to become racers.

 

[Hacker15e]

No, there is no point 75ft AGL. The Jet class has some aircraft that were originally equipped with ejection seats. I am willing to bet most or all have removed them for weight savings, and because most of those chutes need 2-300 feet to fully expand.

Actually, there are plenty of seats that could extract and save a pilot at 75'. The capability is there if pilots/owners wanted to spend the money on it.

Unfortunately, for the risk vs reward, it's just not worth it for 99.9% of racers.

 

[Tram]

Ever thought it was due to respect for the friends and families involved?

Doubtful. They didn't pull a single video of Jim LeRoy, Bobby Younkin, Jimmy Franklin, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc..

 

[X-Forces]

What a sad, tragic loss. I've wanted to go to the Reno Air Races for years, but have never gotten around to it. Really, really sad. The whole thing immediately reminded me of the horrendous Le Mans disaster of 1955, or the even the Ramstein Air Show Disaster of 1988.

Tallflyer—glad to hear that your friend got out relatively unscathed.

For those who've never seen the Le Mans videos, here's an old Pathé newsreel report (crash commentary begins at 1:10). I'm not going to post a link to the Ramstein disaster, as I'm sure all of you have seen that one ad nauseum and ad infinitum:

[video=youtube;FXtb5eDUuQw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXtb5eDUuQw[/video]

Off Topic - The Le Mans video is horrible, but the narration and music are epic.

 

[trafficinsight]

While I agree with respect to the engines, you couldn't be further off base with respect to the airframes.

More warbird airframes have been SAVED by racing than have been "butchered"...in fact, numerous airframes that otherwise would have been total write-offs as wrecks and sent to the smelter exist today simply because they were resurrected to be racers.

Seriously -- go look at the history of individual unlimiteds since 1964 and compare the numbers of those that have been irrevocably damaged or destroyed and compare it to the list of aircraft that were resurrected from the grave to become racers.

This, and most of them have way more history as racers now than they ever did as wrecks.



Sent from 1865 by telegraph....

 

[Polar742]

I have watched probably 5 videos of todays accident, and about 50 photos. Its pretty bad from every angle. Mostly because I knew Jimmy. Its a hard day and age to see these graphic videos instantly uploaded.

I'm sorry about your loss.

However, I'm a pilot you couldn't pick out of a crowd. I've had to watch my friends, who were also just pilots (as in not publicly promoted like airshow pilot types) burn in wrecks on the news (back before YouTube, social media and and viral media). I know I'm not the only person on this site that's had that issue.

I've probably had to endure this stuff about every 5 years or so. It's never better, but you deal with it.

Unfortunately, it's an aspect in this field we have to deal with. Anything goes sideways in an airplane, and it'll be all over the media cycles.

 

[mshunter]

This picture bothers me quite a bit. Where is the pilot?

 

[Tram]

This picture bothers me quite a bit. Where is the pilot?

He's asleep. His head is in his lap. All the pictures prior to impact show no pilot at the controls.

I think the initial pitch up put him to sleep. The rest was just chance that it missed the crowd.

 

[I_Money]

I have no problems with pilots taking extreme risks and having an abnormally high accident rate - the problem lies when spectators become involved. If Reno wants to survive they will have to ensure spectator safety and how you do that I do not know. Maybe this form of air racing will become more popular.

Giant Scale R/C Air Racing: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly! - YouTube

 

[fholbert]

Maybe this form of air racing will become more popular.

Giant Scale R/C Air Racing: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly! - YouTube

Ahhhh, no.

 

[I_Money]

How about this:

NYC Blimp Race, 4th of July 2011 - YouTube

 

[fholbert]

The death toll from the Reno, Nevada, air race plane crash has risen to nine people, Reno police said Saturday.

Nine people died, Reno police said Saturday, one day after the crash at the National Championship Air Races and Air Show. More than 50 people were transported from the scene with injuries, officials have said.
Seven of the people died on the tarmac, including the pilot, and the remainder died in hospitals, police said. Officials had previously put the death toll at three.

One local hospital, Renown Medical Center, received 30 patients, six of whom were in critical condition, as of Saturday morning, a spokesman said. It reported that two patients -- a male and a female -- died. Fourteen of the 30 have been discharged, the hospital said Saturday. Of the remainder, two were in serious condition, five in fair condition, and one in good condition, the hospital said.
On Saturday morning, patients were either in surgery, awaiting surgery, or transferred to a room, the hospital said.
Renown South Meadows Medical Center received and discharged five patients, the hospital said Saturday.
St. Mary's Hospital in Reno said it had accepted 25 patients Friday evening from the accident: four were in critical condition, six in serious condition, and 15 in fair condition as of late Friday.
The pilot, identified as Jimmy Leeward, a real estate developer from Ocala, Florida, was killed in the crash, according to a show official.
The 74-year-old was flying a P-51 Mustang. The event has been canceled, the show said.
A memorial service scheduled Saturday for the pilot was also canceled, said Valerie Miller, a race spokeswoman.

 

[TFaudree_ERAU]

He's asleep. His head is in his lap. All the pictures prior to impact show no pilot at the controls.

I think the initial pitch up put him to sleep. The rest was just chance that it missed the crowd.

Exactly. Trim tab breaks, snaps the nose of the airplane upward, pilot passes out, the rest is up to chance. Sounds like the exact same thing that happened to Voodoo Chile in 1998, except the pilot woke up at 9,000' instead of never waking up at all.

Voodoo - 98 NCAR
[url]http://aafo.com/racing/news/98/day6.htm
[/URL]

 

[derg]

I'm sorry about your loss.

However, I'm a pilot you couldn't pick out of a crowd. I've had to watch my friends, who were also just pilots (as in not publicly promoted like airshow pilot types) burn in wrecks on the news (back before YouTube, social media and and viral media). I know I'm not the only person on this site that's had that issue.

I've probably had to endure this stuff about every 5 years or so. It's never better, but you deal with it.

Unfortunately, it's an aspect in this field we have to deal with. Anything goes sideways in an airplane, and it'll be all over the media cycles.

Good words.

Once upon a time I could count in my hands how many friends I've lost in aviation. Then it was hands and toes. Now it takes scratch paper.

Reflect, honor, learn, incorporate, improve, move forward

 

[KSCessnaDriver]

How about this:

NYC Blimp Race, 4th of July 2011 - YouTube

Ah no. I was involved with that deal, most boring race I've ever seen and most boring race I've ever been in. Fun for maybe 30 seconds, to realize it's 3 airships, but that's about it.