Reno Air Race Crash Leaves 3 Dead, 50 Injured

A vintage World War II fighter plane plunged into the grandstands during the national air races in Reno, Nev., Friday, killing at least three people, injuring more than 50 spectators and creating a horrific scene of body parts and smoking debris, authorities said.

The plane, a P-51 Mustang called the “Galloping Ghost,” was being piloted by veteran Hollywood stunt aviator 74-year-old Jimmy Leeward when it suddenly spiraled out of control and plunged at full speed towards crowds of spectators seated below.

Multiple Youtube videos captured the terrifying moment that the aircraft barrel-rolled wildly through the sky and smashed at a near-vertical angle into a roped-off area for spectators, narrowly missing a grandstand packed with many more people.

“I thought he was coming right on top of us,” one witness, Fred Scholz, told CNN. “Luckily there was no fire, which surprised me. It just happened so quickly.”

Another witness, Kim Fonda, recalled the chilling moment when she saw the plane streaking toward her.

“I closed my eyes and said I am going to die now,” Fonda explained. “I was literally preparing to die and then he jerked the plane away and it landed like 25 feet from us. I want his family to know he was a hero.”

A US federal probe, headed by the National Transportation Safety Board has already been launched to investigate the horrific accident.

While no official cause for the cause for the crash has been announced yet, organizers of the National Championship Air Races earlier said it appears a mechanical failure with the P-51 Mustang was to blame.

“Clearly, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered,” said Mark Rosenker, a CBS News consultant on aviation safety and a former NTSB chairman. “A number of things could have gone wrong, either operationally — it could have had a high-speed stall, he could have had some parts that may have failed, he may have had a medical condition. Nothing will be off the table…”

The National Championship Air Races draws thousands of people to Reno every September to watch various military and civilian planes race. During the competition, described as a car race in the sky, planes fly wingtip-to-wingtip as low as 50 feet off the ground at speeds sometimes surpassing 50 mph.

The FAA and air race organizers spend months preparing for air races as they develop a plan involving pilot qualification, training and testing along with a layout for the course. The FAA inspects pilots’ practice runs and brief pilots on the route maneuvers and emergency procedures.

Sen. Harry Reid, Rep. Mark Amodei and other officials issued statements Friday saying they were shocked and saddened by the crash.

“My thoughts are with the families of those who have lost their lives and with those who were wounded in this horrific tragedy,” Reid said. “I am so grateful to our first responders for their swift action and will continue to monitor this situation as it develops.”

Below is an eyewitness video of the horrific Reno Air Race crash, be warned it is graphic:

via CBS