P-51 Crashes !!

[dmh165638]

It hit a portion of the stands, and some 50 people are dead. Horrible accident.

Where in the world did you get 50 people died? Of the ten or so stories I have read about this and the press conference it says 2 have died and about 50 injured.

[Big A]

Where in the world did you get 50 people died? Of the ten or so stories I have read about this and the press conference it says 2 have died and about 50 injured.

An unreliable source on the internet, good ol' sensationalism. I'd much rather that only 2 died anyway.

[TheTRiM]

I hate to be negative about something so sad but I have to ask.... it seems to me like there is a long lapse in time between impact and the time they finally bring stretchers to those in need, was it just me or did they appear unprepared for this sort of thing?

[ceyko]

I don't know, when I was a kid - plane crashes are air shows were not considered normal. As far as I know, they still are not a normal thing to happen - especially where numerous people would need help.

Sad day for the spectators hurt/killed, the pilot and a piece of historic equipment.

[CJ]

They are just so televised people think they happen more often then they do. Spectators being killed in an air show crash happens once every 30 years or so, very infrequent.

Looking at that video, that plane augured in, there was absolutely no chance he was attempting any sort of maneuver. It seems pretty evident it was either a mechanical problem (like strychnine mentioned) such as a stuck elevator/aileron, or the pilot suffered a heart attack or stroke. Unfortunately there isn't enough video from that last one to really explain what was happening. It seemed he his angle of attack was completely perpendicular to the race traffic.

[David]

There's photo of the plane before the crash. One of it is upside down and what appears to be a broken elevator and then another photo of it nose diving in.

[ZYouL8R]

^Trim tab is missing.

They are just so televised people think they happen more often then they do. Spectators being killed in an air show crash happens once every 30 years or so, very infrequent.

Looking at that video, that plane augured in, there was absolutely no chance he was attempting any sort of maneuver. It seems pretty evident it was either a mechanical problem (like strychnine mentioned) such as a stuck elevator/aileron, or the pilot suffered a heart attack or stroke. Unfortunately there isn't enough video from that last one to really explain what was happening. It seemed he his angle of attack was completely perpendicular to the race traffic.

Last time a spectator died at an airshow in the US was over 50 years ago. It definitely doesn't happen often.

And just a pet peeve, but angle of attack is the angle of the relative wind to the wing, so your usage is off. I think you're saying he impacted the ground at an almost vertical angle. If you watch the video, you'll see the plane violently pitches up, rolls, then almost does a split-s type manuever into the ground. I really hate to speculate on incidents like this, but looking at the picture and the video, it seems he might have lost his trim tab, resulting in a violent pitch up, which resulted in a lot of positive G, which possibly caused him to g-loc and pass out (which is why you don't see him in any of the pics). Just a very uneducated guess.

[dumpycapri85]

Is it strange that you can't see the pilot in the second pic ? I also see no control surface signs that he was trying to pull up . At his age its very possible it was a pilot heath issue .

[dumpycapri85]

Check this one out .

[onemeangixxer7502]

^Trim tab is missing.



Last time a spectator died at an airshow in the US was over 50 years ago. It definitely doesn't happen often.

And just a pet peeve, but angle of attack is the angle of the relative wind to the wing, so your usage is off. I think you're saying he impacted the ground at an almost vertical angle. If you watch the video, you'll see the plane violently pitches up, rolls, then almost does a split-s type manuever into the ground. I really hate to speculate on incidents like this, but looking at the picture and the video, it seems he might have lost his trim tab, resulting in a violent pitch up, which resulted in a lot of positive G, which possibly caused him to g-loc and pass out (which is why you don't see him in any of the pics). Just a very uneducated guess.

x2, its term in relation to the airfoil.I hated learning that crap. Relative wind,angle of attack, bernouli bla bla bla

[DieselSmoke]

^Trim tab is missing.



Last time a spectator died at an airshow in the US was over 50 years ago. It definitely doesn't happen often.

And just a pet peeve, but angle of attack is the angle of the relative wind to the wing, so your usage is off. I think you're saying he impacted the ground at an almost vertical angle. If you watch the video, you'll see the plane violently pitches up, rolls, then almost does a split-s type manuever into the ground. I really hate to speculate on incidents like this, but looking at the picture and the video, it seems he might have lost his trim tab, resulting in a violent pitch up, which resulted in a lot of positive G, which possibly caused him to g-loc and pass out (which is why you don't see him in any of the pics). Just a very uneducated guess.

I'm not a pilot but aircraft mechanic, fighter and heavy, and that would be my guess. Trim tab not working properly is grounding issue.

Edit: but then a again who the hell knows. I went to CDDAR 'crash recover school' and hope i never have to use that training.

[roliath]

larger pic

http://www.rgj.com/article/20110916/EVENTS05/110916036/Plane-crashes-Reno-National-Championship-Air-Races

very scary

[Sean88gt]

Can't get the above imbeds to load on the phone. Tragic accident

[bottlerocket]

tragic

[Rustang]

They said he called a mayday before the crash, so I doubt health was the problem... one person said he heard a pop before that happened, I'm still guessing mechanical failure too. No matter what or how, terrible loss of life and a historical plane.
Almost looked like some of the crashes at our RC Pylon races, that thing scattered big time when it hit.