Few Details Available, Investigation Likely To Take Months
It's very rare that, when looking at an NTSB preliminary report,
listed under injuries are numbers like "11 fatal, 66
serious." WHAT happened in Reno on September 16th is well
known, but learning WHY it happened will take months or more. Our
thoughts remain with Jimmy Leeward's family, as well as the
families of all of those who were lost and injured when his
plane went down.
NTSB Identification: WPR11MA454
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, September 16, 2011 in Reno, NV
Aircraft: NORTH AMERICAN/AERO CLASSICS P-51D, registration:
N79111
Injuries: 11 Fatal,66 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On September 16, 2011, about 1626 Pacific daylight time, an
experimental North America P-51D, N79111, impacted terrain
following a loss of control while maneuvering at Reno Stead
Airport, Reno, Nevada. The airplane was registered to Aero-Trans
Corp, Ocala, Florida, and operated by the pilot as Race 177 under
the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The
commercial pilot sustained fatal injuries; the airplane sustained
substantial damage. Casualties on the ground included 10 fatalities
and 74 injured. As of the time of this preliminary report, eight of
the injured remain hospitalized, some in critical condition. Visual
meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident,
and no flight plan had been filed for the local air race flight,
which departed from Reno Stead Airport about 10 minutes before the
accident.
The airplane was participating in the Reno National Championship
Air Races in the last event of the day. The airplane had completed
several laps and was in a steep left turn towards the home pylon
when, according to photographic evidence, the airplane suddenly
banked momentarily to the left before banking to the right, turning
away from the race course, and pitching to a steep nose-high
attitude. Witnesses reported and photographic evidence indicates
that a piece of the airframe separated during these maneuvers.
After roll and pitch variations, the airplane descended in an
extremely nose-low attitude and collided with the ground in the box
seat area near the center of the grandstand seating area.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration examined the
wreckage on site. They documented the debris field and identified
various components of the airplane’s control system and
control surfaces. The wreckage was removed to a secure storage
facility for detailed examination at a later date.
The airplane’s ground crew noted that the airplane had a
telemetry system that broadcast data to a ground station as well as
recorded it to a box on board the airplane. The crew provided the
ground station telemetry data, which includes engine parameters and
global positioning satellite system data to the NTSB for analysis.
The onboard data box, which sustained crush damage, was sent to the
NTSB’s Vehicle Recorder laboratory for examination.
Investigators recovered pieces of a camera housing and multiple
detached memory cards from the airplane’s onboard camera that
were in the debris field. The memory cards and numerous still and
video image recordings were also sent to the Vehicle Recorders
laboratory for evaluation.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Reno Air Race
Association are parties to the investigation.