'Mass casualties' reported after plane crashes at Nevada air show

'Mass casualties' reported after plane crashes at Nevada air show
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 16, 2011 10:02 p.m. EDT

Reno, Nevada (CNN) -- "Mass casualties" were reported at an air show after a plane crashed Friday into the box seat area in front of a grandstand at the National Championship Air Races and Air Show in Reno, Nevada, a spokesman for the show told CNN.

Mike Draper said he's been told there are "likely fatalities," but it has not been determined how many or who they may be.

The pilot, identified as Jimmy Leeward, a real estate developer from Ocala, Florida, was likely killed in the crash, the show said in a statement. He was flying a P-51 Mustang.

A Reno, Nevada, hospital said Friday evening on its website that it had received a "total of 21 patients" after the plane crashed. "No further patients are expected at this time," the Renown Regional Medical Center reported at 5:45 p.m. PT. The conditions of those patients were not released.

Video from the scene, posted on YouTube, showed a plane plummeting from the sky, sending up clouds of dust and debris.

Shocked spectators rose to their feet.

Fred Scholz, a witness, said he saw the plane seemingly "coming straight down."

"I thought he was coming right on top of us," he said, noting that the aircraft ultimately hit about 100 feet from him, in an area of box seats, filled with folding chairs.

"Luckily there was no fire, which surprised me," said Scholz, a 59-year-old from Truckee, California, who says he goes to air races ever year. "It just happened so quickly."

The plane, called the "Galloping Ghost," was taking part in a qualifying round in the "unlimited class" division of the air race when it went down around 4:15 p.m. PT Friday, Draper said. The final rounds had been slated for the weekend.

The aircraft was about a lap into the race when the pilot sent out a "Mayday signal" and pulled "out of the lap" before crashing into a box seat area that is in front of a grandstand at the "very large race field," located about 15 miles north of Reno, Draper said.

"It was clear that (the plane) was pulling up and was in distress," he said.

He added that authorities do not yet know why the aircraft went down.

Besides the Federal Aviation Administration personnel already there to assist the National Transportation Safety Board in any investigation, the show's spokesman said that National Guard members -- who were on-site practicing before the incident -- are helping emergency personnel to clear the area.

"There are people still being escorted out of that area with various injuries," Draper said.

Local fire officials are reporting multiple fatalities and critical injuries, according to Ian Gregor, a spokesman with the FAA.

He said the aircraft did not catch fire, but there was a wide debris field following the crash.

CNN's Mike Ahlers and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/16/nevada.plane.crash/

RedBedroom wrote:Oh, my word. That is horrific.

RedBedroom wrote:My girlfriend has a 24 year old son who is getting into the stunt plane stuff. He used to race motocross in his teens and she thought that was tough on her heart...

"Luckily there was no fire..."

Opa Shale wrote:Just heard on the news that nine ppl have died and 50 injured.

And, that 70-year-old WWII era P-51 was not a stock plane, but had been modified for speed, which is a risk in itself. Some reports are that part of the tail fell off before crash. We should anticipate new regulations on these shows.