"Galloping Ghost" crashes at Reno Air Races

[Bearracing 3]

As a resident of Reno, NV and having attended roughly half the races held since the first one in 1964 (which I was at), I can tell you without hesitation that the group that run these events are among the most knowledgeable and professional in the world. The accident last Friday was unusual and the flight track of Jimmy Leeward's P-51 didn't follow a path that had ever been considered. Initial observation of the photos indicate that the port side elevator trim-tab had failed. Leeward followed race protocol and immediately climbed for altitude, but his aircraft barreled rolled right, changing his direction 90° to the race line. There is on the ground, a series of black/white markers for the pilots to follow and they are required to stay between the north side of the runway and the line between the pylons. The north side of the runway is 1,400 feet from those box seats that Jimmy crashed into and the race line from the S/F pylon to pylon 1 is at a 10° angle away from the spectator area. Also seen in a series of stills, Jimmy’s tailwheel had extended, indicating he was attempting to get his landing gear down to scrub speed, plus I have talked to three personal friends of mine that were there (all pilots) that each, independently, noted Jimmy’s elevators were at maximum pitch-up, indicating he was attempting to clear the spectator area. I also know several of the fire fighters and race officials, who also confirm what my three friends told me. Of great interest is that the area was completely awash with high octane aviation fuel, but no explosion occurred, thankfully. It should also be noted that it was announced this morning that the 9th spectator has passed, bringing the fatalities to 10, including Jimmy Leeward (the pilot). Area hospitals have treated 74 people for injuries. Many of the emergency personal attending those injured, were in fact spectators that were witnesses to the crash, and there were two Vietnam era medivac helicopters (Huey's), there on static display, along with a US Army Blackhawk medivac helo that were all immediately brought into service and each transported many of the more seriously injured to area hospitals. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

[scott967 62]

thanks for the update Bear. scott s..

[n4gix 4,947]

I read this at FS.com earlier today and thought I'd pass it along:

I just learned this morning that one of the fatalities was Mike Wogan, the son of FS.Com member Bill Wogan,(Pilatus96). Both Bill and Mike suffer from muscular dystrophy and were seated in a wheelchair acessible "VIP" area very near the point of impact. Mike was killed instantly, his father Bill was critically injured and is in the hospital. My deepest sympathy and prayers go out to Bill and his family...

[Raindance 25]

"Leeward followed race protocol and immediately climbed for altitude, but his aircraft barreled rolled right.." That's interesting, as I wondered how the detachment of something as small as a trim tab could bring a plane down, but I guess this, combined with the airspeed at the time, produced an pronounced imbalance of lift on the tailplane causing the plane to rotate. If he was pulling hard to gain height then that, combined with the roll & low altitude, could (and evidently did) easily end up with the plane diving into the ground before the pilot could work out what the hell had happened and try to deal with it.

[Guest jahman]

At this stage I don't think we really know what happenned. FWIW the pilot could have been knocked unconscious (see New York Times photo) by the sudden pull-up due to loss of the elevator trim tab and never regained sufficient consciousness to take control of the aircraft defore hitting the ground. Cheers, - jahman.

[Bearracing 3]

Just a few moments ago, Mat Jackson (Vice President of the RARA Unlimited pilots association) offered, in a local radio interview, their preliminary findings on the accident last Friday at Reno. The NTSB will release the "official" findings in a few months, but Mr. Jackson offered something that I hadn't considered. Jimmy Leeward's P-51 only this year advanced up to the "Gold" category classification at Reno. HIs aircraft has been extensively modified and all of the aircraft in this category are operating on the very limit of the envelope. During this particular race, Galloping Ghost had been running in 4th place, but Jimmy increased the power settings and passed a Sea Fury and had just come up under "Rare Bear" (an extensively modified F8F Bearcat, which has lapped Reno at 515 mph average), when his trim apparently failed. Mr. Jackson was an observer of this specific race, and they have reviewed the many photographs, video, and personal observation, plus they have already re-modeled (computer) the accident and their initial findings are indicating that it "WAS" the trim-tab failure that most likely lead to the accident. Aircraft, in this class are rounding the pylons at extremely high loads, as in high "G" loads. Stick loading is generally beyond a pilot's capability without adjusting the elevator trim as you enter and exit a pylon. When Jimmy appeared to follow protocol by immediately climbing, observers noted his climb was extremely violent and un-controlled and the action of his aircraft's tail-wheel extending is further evidence that the Galloping Ghost's load in the climb and subsequent roll, exceeded 12 to 14 Gs. The tail-wheel extended because the retraction lock will generally sheer, after 10 to 11 Gs of postive G force. Audio of the crash, indicates that Jimmy's engine was still at full throttle and his speed was most likely between 490 and 510 mph when he struck the ground. Jimmy Leeward, in all likelihood, lost conciousness during the initial climb and never regained conciousness before striking the ground. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

[Bearracing 3]

In the photo above, provided by jahman, you'll notice that Jimmy Leeward is not visible in the cockpit, this is because his body is still being subjected to a 12-14 G postive load factor and has sunk below the canopy edge. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

[tf51d 284]

In the photo above, provided by jahman, you'll notice that Jimmy Leeward is not visible in the cockpit, this is because his body is still being subjected to a 12-14 G postive load factor and has sunk below the canopy edge. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

Is it possible, the high G's of the pullout caused him to black out, resulting in loss of control of the stick? When I looped the Mustang we pulled 4G's and you can feel it. At the speed these planes were at, he must have been pulling 7 or more!!

[Bearracing 3]

Is it possible, the high G's of the pullout caused him to black out, resulting in loss of control of the stick? When I looped the Mustang we pulled 4G's and you can feel it. At the speed these planes were at, he must have been pulling 7 or more!!

Mat Jackson, Vice President of the Unlimited Pilots Association, states that the violent pull-up, caused by the Galloping Ghost's trim-tab failure, probably subjected Jimmy Leeward to 12+Gs and that level of G force maintained itself until he struck the ground. The above photo only supports that early speculation by those doing the investigation Its extremely unlikely Jimmy Leeward was concious when he struck the ground. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

[Bearracing 3]

Do understand everyone, because the Reno National Air Races are a local event for me and considering my high interest in aviation, this accident hits harder, not just for me, but everyone I know that lives here as well. Our local news people, television and radio, are all equally saddened by this accident, especially considering that Jimmy Leeward has been coming here and racing since the 1970s and though he wasn't from this area, he was quite well known and respected. As I listened to Mat Jackson today, discuss the cause of the accident, at least as the experts are seeing it for the moment, you could hear the difficulty in Mat's voice, as he attempted to explain what happened. It is made even more difficult considering that the accident took so many lives of the fans and considering the seriousness of the injuries, with those that survived, its going to effect our town for years to come. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

[Cessnaflyer 56]

"Leeward followed race protocol and immediately climbed for altitude, but his aircraft barreled rolled right.." That's interesting, as I wondered how the detachment of something as small as a trim tab could bring a plane down, but I guess this, combined with the airspeed at the time, produced an pronounced imbalance of lift on the tailplane causing the plane to rotate. If he was pulling hard to gain height then that, combined with the roll & low altitude, could (and evidently did) easily end up with the plane diving into the ground before the pilot could work out what the hell had happened and try to deal with it.

Trim tabs have a remarkable amount of force even at low speeds. One of the lessons I do on types of stalls includes elevator trim stalls. In this stall we slow down to an approach speed then add full nose up trim. I then have them add full power and with just prop wash and slow speeds the nose climbs dramatically and is very difficult to push down without adjusting the trim.

[Jeff Smith 0]

Do understand everyone, because the Reno National Air Races are a local event for me and considering my high interest in aviation, this accident hits harder, not just for me, but everyone I know that lives here as well. Our local news people, television and radio, are all equally saddened by this accident, especially considering that Jimmy Leeward has been coming here and racing since the 1970s and though he wasn't from this area, he was quite well known and respected. As I listened to Mat Jackson today, discuss the cause of the accident, at least as the experts are seeing it for the moment, you could hear the difficulty in Mat's voice, as he attempted to explain what happened. It is made even more difficult considering that the accident took so many lives of the fans and considering the seriousness of the injuries, with those that survived, its going to effect our town for years to come. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

Thanks for the additional information Steve and for explaining further what happened. I am grateful for the community we have in Reno/Sparks and the way everyone has responded to it. We will recover from it eventually and I surely hope the event continues in the future. I hope you are doing well.

[Bearracing 3]

We just learned today that another injured spectator, from the Air Race accident, has succombed to their injuries, bringing the fatalities to 11. Steve (Bear) CartwrightReno, NV

[Guest jahman]

CNN posted a new video of the crash (WARNING: It's quite terrifying!) An analysis of the images of the video appears to show Galloping Ghost flying inverted (top right corner) after losing pitch control and 135º into into an involuntary Inner Loop (with the previous picture apparently showing the aircraft at the 315º position), unfortunately at too low an altitude/too high an airspeed to allow recovery, even if the pilot had been able to regain control of aircraft pitch. Note surviving spectators were lucky twice: Not only did the aircraft miss directly impacting the stands, but the horizontal component of the aircraft's trajectory meant the debris ejecta mainly sprayed away from the stands, also missing most spectators (but unfortunately not all). - jahman.

[BIGSKY 316]

"This thing just bucked BIG TIME"http://aafo.com/raci...ews/98/day6.htmhttp://www.avweb.com/newspics/dsc066.jpg