Three dead as plane crashes at Nevada air race

Second world war fighter plunged to ground near grandstand at event near Reno, killing three people and injuring more than 50 Three people have died and more than 50 were injured after a second world war fighter plane flown by a veteran Hollywood stunt pilot crashed at an air race near Reno, Nevada. The plane, piloted by 74-year-old Jimmy Leeward, plunged to the ground without warning near a grandstand. Body parts and debris were strewn across the airfield. Organisers of the event said a mechanical fault was probably to blame but they were awaiting the results of an official investigation. Stephanie Kruse, a spokeswoman for the Regional Emergency Medical Service Authority, said 56 people were taken to hospital, of whom 15 were in a critical condition and 13 were in a serious condition with potentially life-threatening injuries. “This is a very large incident, probably one of the largest this community has seen in decades,” she said. “The community is pulling together to try to deal with the scope of it.” Witnesses described their shock as the plane tumbled from the sky. Maureen Higgins, of Alabama, was sitting about 30 yards from the crash and watched in horror as the man in front of her started bleeding after 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,” she said “The alive people were missing body parts. I am not kidding you. It was gore. Unbelievable gore.” Leeward, of Ocala, Florida, was among those killed. He was a veteran airman and film stunt pilot who named his P-51 Mustang fighter plane the Galloping Ghost, according to Mike Houghton, president and chief executive of Reno Air Races. Renown Regional Medical Centre spokeswoman Kathy Carter confirmed two others died, but did not provide their identities. The P-51 Mustang, a class of fighter plane that can fly at more than 500 mph, crashed into a box-seat area in front of the grandstand at about 4.30pm, race spokesman Mike Draper said. Houghton said the crash appeared to be a “problem with the aircraft that caused it to go out of control”. The rest of the races were cancelled as the National Transportation Safety Board investigated. Another witness Tim Linville, 48, of Reno, said the plane smashed into the ground and shattered, sending shrapnel and debris into the crowd. “It was just flying everywhere,” he said. Tim O’Brien of Grass Valley, California, said he saw the plane pitch violently upward, roll and then head straight down about 100 metres away. O’Brien said it looked like a piece of the plane’s tail had fallen off. United States Nevada David Batty guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.