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



## Bob Hubbard (Sep 17, 2011)

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."
> ...


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.


----------

