[release]RENO, Nev. — As thousands watched in horror, a World War II-era fighter plane competing in a Nevada air show race suddenly pitched upward, rolled and did a nose-dive toward the crowded grandstand.
At least three people were killed and more than 50 injured. It was feared the death toll could rise.
The plane, flown by a 74-year-old veteran Hollywood stunt pilot, slammed into the concrete in a section of VIP box seats and blew to pieces in front the pilot's family and a tight-knit group of friends who attend the annual event in Reno.
"It absolutely disintegrated," said Tim O'Brien of Grass Valley Calif., who attends the races every year. "I've never seen anything like that before."
The crash, which happened just before 4:30 p.m. during the National Championship Air Races at the Reno-Stead Airport, left a horrific scene strewn with smoking debris.
Bloodied bodies were spread across the area as people tended to the victims and ambulances rushed to the scene. Video of the aftermath showed a man with his leg severed at the knee.
Mike Draper, a spokesman for the Reno National Championship Air Races, described the scene as "a mass-casualty situation."
Authorities said it appeared that a mechanical failure with the P-51 Mustang — a class of fighter plane that can fly in excess of 500 mph — was to blame. The pilot, Jimmy Leeward, was among those killed.
[B]'Big explosion'[/B]
O'Brien, who is chairman of an air show in his hometown in California, was photographing Friday's races when the crash occurred.
He said the Mustang was racing six other planes, and was in the process of moving from third place into second, when it pitched violently upward, rolled and then headed straight down.
From the photos he took, O'Brien said it looked like a piece of the plane's tail called a "trim tab" had fallen off. He believes that's what caused the plane's sudden climb.
When the aircraft hit the ground, there was a "big explosion but no fire," O'Brien said.
"The propeller (was) spinning very fast, and there was a lot of mass coming down all at once," he said. It was a "very violent impact."
Afterward, a number of people were standing around, and "all we could do was hug each other," he said.
Some onlookers said Leeward had done what he could to avoid people on the ground.
"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.
"The way I see it, if he did do something about this, he saved hundreds if not thousands of lives because he was able to veer that plane back toward the tarmac," said Johnny Norman, who was at the show.[/release]
[URL]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44556695/ns/us_news-life/?gt1=43001#.TnSuLdSbpcU[/URL]
Jesus christ, but seriously, an 80 year old man driving a 75 year old plane? Around thousands of people? How did no one see anything wrong with this?
That's just dumb, old plane flown by an old man. I can see the point, but it's just too dangerous to use such an old plane.
A WW2 plane?
Even though they had a veteran Hollywood stunt pilot, they shouldn't had used a 60-80 year old plane.
[QUOTE=Repulsion;32336482]Jesus christ, but seriously, an 80 year old man driving a 75 year old plane? Around thousands of people? How did no one see anything wrong with this?[/QUOTE]
The photographer said something fell off, I'm pretty sure it was the plane at fault here.
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