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In the second such plane crash in 24 hours, the pilot of a T-28 vintage plane was killed on Saturday at the Thunder over Blue Ridge air show in West Virginia. No spectators were injured and the cause of the crash has yet to be identified. ...
In the second such plane crash in 24 hours, the pilot of a T-28 vintage plane was killed on Saturday at the Thunder over Blue Ridge air show in West Virginia. No spectators were injured and the cause of the crash has yet to be identified. On Friday a plane competing at the Reno National Championship Air Races in Nevada crashed into a box seating area, killing nine people and injuring dozens more.
This video shows the immediate aftermath of the Thunder over Blue Ridge air show crash. The moment of impact is not seen, but flames and smoke from the crash are evident.
During Friday?s crash at Reno, Australian visitor to the air race David Wilson captured very dramatic video from close range, aired in this report from Reno?s KTVN, which includes an interview with Wilson:
Officials said seven people, including pilot Jimmy Leeward, died at the scene of the crash, and two others died of their injuries at hospitals.
Photographer Tim O?Brien, shooting the air race for the Grass Valley Union, captured this photograph of the Galloping Ghost as it plunged downward.
?It was in the Unlimited Gold race on about the second lap when the third-place aircraft, No. 177, the Galloping Ghost flown by Jimmy Leeward, experienced mechanical problems,? said Tim O?Brien, a Grass Valley resident on assignment at the races for The Union. ?The plane pitched violently upward, followed by a dive straight into the front of the reserve grandstands.
?There were hundreds of people in the stands," O?Brien reported immediately after the crash. "There are definitely casualties. The plane disintegrated and there are scores of ambulances out there right now.?
O?Brien, who has been photographing the annual Air Races since 1973, said he and his brother, Brian, were shooting the race 300 yards from where the plane made impact.
?I saw him pull up, which they do in May Day situations, and I immediately pointed the camera on the plane,? O?Brien said. ?It happened so fast. He was over us ? and then coming straight down.
?When they?re racing, they set the trim tabs straight down. And if you look at the photo of the plane upside down. That slot on the tail, it?s missing. When that came off, that caused the plane to pitch up violently. The plane went straight up and was still under full power. From what I saw, it torque-rolled and pointed down. It came straight down under full power. As soon as it crashed, there was a huge debris explosion, but fortunately no flames.?
The pilot, well-known racer and stunt-pilot Jimmy Leeward, was 74. Race officials said he was in excellent health and had filed all the proper medical records.
Houghton said the NTSB was now in charge of the investigation, and the three-man team always on site for the air race was awaiting the arrival of the team leader from Washington. Officials decided to end the event in the wake of the crash.
The plane, flown by a renowned 74-year-old air racer and movie stunt pilot, spiraled suddenly out of control 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.
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.?
Leeward, of Ocala, Florida, had been flying since an early age. He also was a stunt pilot in the movies Amelia, Dragonfly, The Tuskegee Airmen and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3.
Houghton said all pilots must have a physical examination in order to fly and that Leeward?s records showed he was in excellent health.
From the family of Jimmy Leeward? Dear friends, we are deeply saddened by the tragedy at the air race today. Please join us in praying at this time for all the families affected.