Reno Air Races tragedy

raymondpickens

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Aug 5, 2010
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If you haven't heard there was many people involved at the event this afternoon. A plane crashed in the crowd, my dad called and said he was right there close to it and it was a very sad sight. I pray for all there and hope for the best of the injured.
 

Rocky_Road

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

I heard that it was a P-51 Mustang, and that the owner/pilot was 80 years old.

Great plane...sad story.
 

southkogs

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

3 killed on scene - 56 transported (13 critical, 15 life threatening). Folk on site were pretty horrified from everything I've read. I've seen one auger in mid-field - even without spectator injuries it's a surreal thing. Can't imagine what folks in Reno are going through right now.

Was he an actual racer or a fly-by? An 80 y.o. racing a 51 is impressive. You can pull some heavy G's in a hot-rodded P-51.
 

chriscraft254

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

The pilot died, and atleast 50 others injured last I heard. Hope there are no more fatalities. Atleast the pilot died doing what he loved. Said it looked like he tried to pull away from the crowd the best he could. That plane hit the deck fast.
 

waterinthefuel

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

See the video I posted in my previous reply. He was a racer. He was in 4th place.
 

Kohrah

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Aug 24, 2011
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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

for the pilot of the plane who died doing what he loved, may we all go out doing what we love. Also for those that also passed away.

"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."

For those that are in the hospital,

"May God grant you many years to live,
For sure he must be knowing.
The earth has angels all too few.
And heaven is overflowing."

"Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Everything remains as it was.
The old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no sorrow in your tone.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effort
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting, when we meet again."
 

JRJ

Commander
Joined
Sep 11, 2001
Messages
2,992
Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

Last I saw, 7 died at the scene and 2 at hospitals. Very sad. The races really are something to see if you've never been. My condolances to all affected.
 

southkogs

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

Last I saw, 7 died at the scene and 2 at hospitals. Very sad. The races really are something to see if you've never been. My condolances to all affected.

Counts keep creeping up a little. It'll take the FAA and NTSB a little bit to unwrap this one. Echoing JRJ - condolences to the air racing community and Reno.
 

Stachi

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Jul 14, 2009
Messages
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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

When I clicked on it yesterday morning , it had been pulled ...looks like it is there now ...hmmmmm
Not sure which youtube video you're talking about, but the one in my link above works fine.
 

mscher

Lieutenant
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Apr 21, 2004
Messages
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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

A very terrible tragedy indeed.

Does anyone else question the wisdom, of racing a 70 year old warplane?
 

45Auto

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Messages
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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

Does anyone else question the wisdom, of racing a 70 year old warplane?

I question the wisdom of people that go out in boats less than 21' in length.

USCG 2010 Safety Report, page 6:

? In 2010, the Coast Guard counted 4604 accidents that involved 672 deaths,

? Eight out of every ten boaters who drowned were using vessels less than 21 feet in length

http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/workflow_staging/Page/2010_Recreational_Boating_Statistics.pdf

But I figure it's none of my business, same as airplane racing. It someone wants to race an airplane or go watch them a million miles away from everyone else in the desert, then the only ones it affects are the people who chose to be there. I very seriously doubt if any of them were stupid enough to believe that airplanes never crash.

First time in the 47 years that they've been racing that the Reno Air Races have had a spectator fatality. Doesn't bother me, I've raced pretty much everything that flies, floats, or rolls and it' a fact that if you're pushing the edge, sometimes the edge pushes back. If you don't want to risk crashing or getting hit by a racing plane, don't fly one or go to the races. If you don't want to risk crashing or getting hit by a racing car, don't drive one or go to the races. If you don't want to risk crashing or getting hit by a racing boat, don't drive one or go to the races.
 

southkogs

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

A very terrible tragedy indeed.

Does anyone else question the wisdom, of racing a 70 year old warplane?

Yes & no: I like flying, and enjoy the little aerobatics that I've done. Air races have never thrilled me, but I can understand how someone would enjoy it. What I was surprised at was that the range allowed the airplane that close to the crowd (granted you can cover a lot of ground fast at 500kts). I guess I didn't realize the course flew that close to the spectators.
 

WIMUSKY

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

I'm with 45Auto on this one being I used to race boats. There were fatalities, drivers only. Thankfully, few and far between. It did look like the spectators were quite close, however. Wasn't a good day to be in the VIP seating. A tragedy no matter how you slice it. P-51s have been used for racing for years.

Heck, Carl Edwards of NASCAR almost ended up in the stands at Talladega last year. That would have wiped out a bunch of people. As it was, parts of his car did and people were hurt.....
 

mscher

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

The risks of racing (to both racer and spectators) I understand perfectly and I have no problem with that. That was not my point.

Nearly every other form of motor racing, has one thing in common - they race the latest and the greatest. The racing vehicles are the lighest, safest, most fuel efficient, etc., of any prior design. Maybe thats for a reason.

In Reno in 64', they were racing surplus aircraft (designed and built as warcraft) that were already 20 years old - that was 48 years ago. They are still flying them upwards of 450mph+ in tight turns. These aircraft were built very sturdy, but were they built to last forever? Certainly they are are inspected closely, but will metal etc., stress over that period of time, that may not be detected. Apparently.

Even vintage race car drivers, don't go all out, because their race cars not really even safe, by today's race car standards, plus they don't see the point of rolling a irreplacable $500k automobile.

I love vintage aircraft. I just hate seeing them in buring piles of rubble.
 

WIMUSKY

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

I have no idea, but, I wonder if those planes have been reskinned? I'm sure they have been retrofitted with the latest and greatest electronics in the cockpit. Basically, they're not your typical WWII fighter, I wouldn't think......
 

oops!

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Oct 18, 2007
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12,932
Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

these are racing machines.

the pilots and their crews go over every inch.....
aircraft mechanics are the cream of the crop....ever seen thier work?.....a thing of beauty.

this was a terrible tragedy.
but racing will continue
 

45Auto

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Re: Reno Air Races tragedy

mscher said:
Nearly every other form of motor racing, has one thing in common - they race the latest and the greatest. The racing vehicles are the lighest, safest, most fuel efficient, etc., of any prior design. Maybe thats for a reason.

They DO race the latest and greatest in unlimited piston-engine aircraft technology. That's exactly why they race vehicles based on WW2 warplanes in the unlimited class. They ARE the the latest and the greatest in piston engine airplane technology. Nothing built after them is faster. It's UNLIMITED piston engine aircraft racing, nothing says you have to use old airplanes. But no matter what you do to a piston-engined airplane it is limited to speeds around 500 - 600 MPH by the prop (an airplane prop basically starts cavitating and loses thrust if the blade velocity goes supersonic). The development of practical high-speed jet engine technology in early WW2 meant that development of piston-engined, speed-limited prop-driven technology stopped at the same time.

There's a similar situation in some of the single-design sailboat racing classes that use designs that have been around for a long time. The early hulls built in the 60's are in high demand because they were built much lighter than the later hulls and are significantly faster. If something gives them a competitive advantage, people don't care how old it is.

Vintage car racing isn't really racing, it's a parade around a race track where people are afraid of scratching their paint. If any of the cars were still competitive, people would be actually racing them!
 
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