Quote:
Originally Posted by kranz
(Post 1751814)
I hope you would be able to repeat this to the families of the 8 victims and 70 injured.
I'm far from blaming him, especially after it was said that a mechanical failure was the main reason. The closer to spectators the better, however, "At that speed and altitude" it is the pilot who takes final responsibility not only for his life but the spectators' as well. We had similar crashes in Poland, including the famous Su-27 one, when the pilot "allegedly" maneuvered away from the crowd, and fortunately hit some unattended spot. He was also called a "hero".
Tbh I'm tired of hearing about "heroes" who first do everything to get as close as possible to the boundary between life and death and when something goes wrong and they kill less than "x" number of ppl, they are called heroes.
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Personally I think having air races so close to the crowds is asking for trouble, but as someone else said on this thread this is the first crash in the history of air racing which has had fatalities in the crowd, so that in itself must say something.
The pilot does indeed take responsibility for his life and the life of the spectators too, however the question is when the moment comes does that still ring true? Less than ten seconds from incident to the ground. Now, I do not know if he did indeed move the plane away from the spectator benches or whether it was the result of the Split-S the plane was in, it could be quite possible that Mr Leeward was unconscious at the time as a result of the Gs produced by the violent maneuver.
It is, also, quite possible that the modifications undertaken to 'Galloping Ghost' contributed to the crash, it is still far too early to tell, and perhaps I was a little early to claim Mr Leeward as a hero, however if indeed he did deliberately pull the stick to try and get the P-51 into an area where it would kill him and only him then I do believe that he is a hero and I hope that the families of those killed and injured would understand because without people who do 'push the limits' there would be no air races and there would be no people watching air races, likewise events such as Le Mans, Formula One, and any other sporting event where there have been spectating casualties. Aircraft fall out of the sky, it is a fact that you cannot remove the risk factor of flying but at the same time people want to go and see the aircraft flying and see and hear the spectacle...it is extremely regrettable but it does happen and there was no deliberate intent to injure or kill on the behalf of the pilots there, just as there is not intent to injure or kill on the behalf of Formula One drivers, Speedboat racers or Motorcycle racers, but it has happened and will happen, the only problem with air races is that you cannot put a fence in front of the aircraft like you can with speedboats and motorcars and cycles, certainly, as I have already said, it should be considered that the race itself takes place further away from the crowd...but that is something for the organizers to decide on.
More people could have been killed, yes, and it is of no comfort to those that have died, no, but at the end of the day there is a risk in both participants and spectators in air races and this was pretty much inevitable. It was luck and pilot skill (perhaps) that the aircraft wasn't fully loaded with fuel and didn't crash straight into the spectators because that would have killed many many many more, dozens even.
So, if...and I state if, Mr Leeward did pull the aircraft away from the crowd as many have speculated then yes, I would say that to those who have lost family members in this terrible accident, and I think that they would agree and understand.
