P51 crashes at air show

[Armistead]

Terrible crash, not sure how many died, but they say 40 are critical.

Includes video of crash.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0...1_lnk3%7C96356

[Torplexed]

Horrific. Begining to wonder if it isn't time to retire the remaining flyable WW2 warbirds to the museum.

[Thomen]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Horrific. Begining to wonder if it isn't time to retire the remaining flyable WW2 warbirds to the museum.

Maybe, but the pilot was, from what I hear, 80 years old. That may have been one of the problems also.

It is a tragedy, either way. =(

[magic452]

My son called me to say he was alive, I didn't know what he was talking about. Turns out he was working the air races as a sound engineer and the P51 crashed about 30 feet right in front of him. I hadn't heard about it yet, only happened 45 minutes before.

He's a retired EMT and was helping with the injured and said there were dead but he didn't know how many. At last count 54 had been admitted to three different hospitals and 2 are confirmed dead as well as the pilot.

The plane exploded into tiny fragments and only the engine was at all recognizable and it was in several pieces. It hit at race speed 400+ MPH almost vertical. No fire as they only carry enough fuel for the race and it was almost over. It missed the box seats by a few yards and all the injuries were from flying debris. Fortunately the plane was moving away from the stands or it would have been much worse. The planes fly very fast and very low 100+ feet, a bad situation if you have problems.

The pilot Jimmy Leeward,was only 74 and in excellent health and a veteran of the races, well known here. You have to under go a very strong FAA physical in order to race. The whole event is under FAA supervision.

There have been 19 pilots that have died since the races started in the 1960's but this is the first time spectators have been injured or killed.

Magic

[gimpy117]

old airframe? lets face it, the P-51's are old. I wouldn't be surprised if some failure caused the erratic flight path described

[HunterICX]

Originally Posted by magic452

My son called me to say he was alive, I didn't know what he was talking about. Turns out he was working the air races as a sound engineer and the P51 crashed about 30 feet right in front of him.

30 feet (aprox 10m)

That's really too close for comfort, glad to hear he's okay
real shame that some wheren't as fortunate.

HunterICX

old airframe?

Or the new engine?