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(Marilyn Newton, Pool/AP Photo) Investigators in Nevada today are continuing to comb the accident site where a stunt plane crashed during an air race in Reno. Eyewitnesses said that as the P-51 Mustang Galloping Ghost piloted by Jimmy Leeward rounded ...
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Debris is shown at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nev., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 where pilot Jimmy Leeward crashed his plane on Friday. At center left is a crater that authorities say is six feet six wide and three feet deep where the plane crashed. (Marilyn Newton, Pool/AP Photo)Auto Start:
Sept. 18, 2011Investigators in Nevada today are continuing to comb the accident site where a stunt plane crashed during an air race in Reno.
Nine people died including the pilot when a World War II era plane crashed into the VIP seats on the tarmac Friday. A total of 69 people were injured.
Eyewitnesses said that as the P-51 Mustang Galloping Ghost piloted by Jimmy Leeward rounded the final clubhouse turn, something dropped off the tail of the plane, and that that may have been what caused the problem.
"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 Associated Press. "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 I noticed there were pieces of flesh."
Debris is shown at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nev., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 where pilot Jimmy Leeward crashed his plane on Friday. At center left is a crater that authorities say is six feet six wide and three feet deep where the plane crashed.
NTSB investigators say they may not have a flight data recorder. But the numerous photos and personal video accounts from spectators will assist officials in the investigation.
"Pictures and video appear to show a piece of the plane was coming off," Rosekind said at a news conference. "A component has been recovered. We have not identified the component or if it even came from the airplane ... We are going to focus on that."
The tragedy in Reno was another near miss for Commander Mark Kelly, husband of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in the head earlier this year in Tucson.
As investigators work to piece together what caused the crash, officials are also looking into another fatal air show crash this weekend.
Pilot John Mangan was flying a 1958 T-28 Warbird, when it suddenly crashed after completing an acrobatic move with another T-28. Mangan was killed. No other injuries were reported.
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