WW2 fighter crashes into crowd at air show, almost 100 injured & multiple deaths reported

[Bob Hubbard]

The newswires are flooded with reports. A WW2 P-51 Mustang being flown by a veteran pilot lost control and crashed into the crowd at a Reno NV airshow. Injuries are just under 100 with at this time 9 people reported killed. This is one of the worst air show tragedies I can recall.

As thousands watched in horror, the plane competing in a Nevada event described as a car race in the sky suddenly pitched upward, rolled and did a nose-dive toward the crowded grandstand.
The P-51 Mustang, flown by a veteran Hollywood stunt pilot, then slammed into the tarmac in front 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 came down directly at us. As I looked down, I saw the spinner, the wings, the canopy just coming right at us. It hit directly in front of us, probably 50 to 75 feet," Ryan Harris, of Round Mountain, Nev., told the AP.
"The next thing I saw was a wall of debris going up in the air. That's what I got splashed with. In the wall of debris noticed there were pieces of flesh."
The pilot and two spectators were killed and more than 50 were injured amid a horrific scene strewn with smoking debris.
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 -- was to blame. Some credit the pilot, Jimmy Leeward, with preventing the crash from being far more deadly.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/1...ng-into-what-caused-deadly-crash-at-air-show/

[h=4]Nevada air race crash[/h]

• Vintage plane hits spectators; 3 dead
• iReport: 'Plane crashed in front of me'
• Pilot built life around love of flight
• Witness: 'Am I going to die?'

• [h=1]Death Toll Rises in Air Race Crash[/h] Reno police say at least nine people were killed and dozens injured after 74-year-old pilot lost control of his World War II-era plane and crashed at a Reno air show, as NTSB begins investigation into what caused the accident.
• PHOTOS: Tragedy at Reno Air Show
• VIDEO: Deadly Crash

Just in:

• URGENT: Deadly Crash at West Virginia Air Show

There have been a lot crashes this year, way more than is usual. All involving WW2 warbirds. Beyond the loss of life, is the loss of history as well. It's a miracle that so many are still flying, but they were never intended to last this long, their airframes long past their shelf life. If they are to continue flying, more care is going to be needed to ensure that they are still safe to fly.