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'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/

Oh, my word. That is horrific.

RedBedroom wrote:

Oh, my word. That is horrific.

Just terrible. There was one not too long ago where the wing walker fell off the plane & was killed. But this is the worst air show accident I've heard about. Tragic.

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...

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...

Wow...some of those stunts are almost surreal. I can't even imagine a loved one being the one doing them. I wish him safety & her peace of mind.

She actually paid for the training and all that from the time he got his pilot license through the stunt stuff. He's in grad school now, so I think (hope) it is going to eventually be put on the back burner now that he opted for grad school. Much better investment in his future.

Here's an update half an hour ago. So far 3 dead, but it will probably be more by the description of injuries.

3 dead, 56 injured in horrific Reno air show crash

MARTIN GRIFFITH
From Associated Press
September 16, 2011 11:39 PM EDT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A vintage World War II-era fighter plane plunged into the edge of the grandstands Friday during a popular air racing show, killing three people, injuring more than 50 spectators and creating a horrific scene strewn with body parts and smoking debris.

The plane, flown by a renowned 74-year-old air racer and Hollywood stunt pilot, spiraled out of control without warning and appeared to disintegrate upon impact. Bloodied bodies were spread across the area as people tended to the victims and ambulances rushed to the scene.

Maureen Higgins of Alabama, who has been coming to the show for 16 years, said the pilot was on his third lap when he lost control.

She was sitting about 30 yards away from the crash and watched in horror as the man in front of her started bleeding after a piece of debris hit him in the head.

"I saw body parts and gore like you wouldn't believe it. I'm talking an arm, a leg," Higgins said "The alive people were missing body parts. I am not kidding you. It was gore. Unbelievable gore."

Stephanie Kruse, a spokeswoman for the Regional Emergency Medical Service Authority, told The Associated Press that emergency crews took a total of 56 injury victims to three hospitals. She said they also observed a number of people being transported by private vehicle, which they are not including in their count.

Kruse said of the total 56, at the time of transport, 15 were considered in critical condition, 13 were serious condition with potentially life-threatening injuries and 28 were non-serious or non-life threatening.

Awful.

Wow thats pretty sad.

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"Luckily there was no fire..."

For sure or this tragedy would have been even worse.

That's terrible.

Damn, thats crazy.

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.

Here's a pic of that.