Reno Air Race Crash Kills and Injures Scores of Spectators

[gonzalu]

WTF? Are they safe? Geesh, why not actually GO TO ONE and ACTUALLY REPORT like you were taught (or not) in Journalism... How about doing some real investigative reporting and find out for yourself? Safe? Laughable reporting really.

As for safety itself, I have noticed it actually get safer every year and I can prove it through my photos as the flight line gets further and further away from the crowd every year.

Finally, one of my die-hard Republican PRO-WAR buddies argues with me day in and day out how war is necessary and losing our friends and family overseas in foreign wars is a necessity in our time, tell me to my face that airshows are the dumbest thing ever and wrought with danger! Go figure!

[Fighting_falcon_51]

First I would like to say my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the pilot and the spectators.

I haven't been to that many different airshows but I have to say I never felt unsafe at any point during an airshow.

One thing that I have noticed though is that there have been more safety concerns with AIR RACES. If you go on this Facebook page a person who claims to be an ex-GmbH employee cites major safety concerns for the reason why RBAR was stopped. RBAR had a bad year last year with planes stalling hitting the water, and a prop strike. I'm not saying what happened at Reno is necessarily the fault of the organization or the pilot, but from what I have inferred it looks to ME that air races have a slightly higher inherent risk. That is purely my opinion though because I do not have any concrete
facts to support it.

Also I think this will be the end of air races for years or even decades. No one is going to want to insure an air race and I don't know if people are going to WANT to go to air races because of the news replaying the P-51 hitting the crowd over and over. This will also increase the insurance rates for warbirds and airshows adding a greater financial burden to the pilots and organizations.

According to ICAS there hasn't been a spectator death since 1952 (and the person wasn't even invited to the airshow!) wether they will still use that statistic is questionable since it was technically not an airshow, but regardless there were two spectator deaths at a MAJOR aerial event.

[Gerard]

There are some amazing pictures coming out now including one that shows the plane coming down seconds before impact.

http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gal...H&Profile=1459

[Gerard]

I read that the Huey that was shown in the pictures medevacing out the injured is a "warbird" ship. If so that is a great job by those men jumping in to get the injured out quickly.

[gonzalu]

http://www.fox19.com/category/195974...clipId=6262525

[cancidas]

I read that the Huey that was shown in the pictures medevacing out the injured is a "warbird" ship. If so that is a great job by those men jumping in to get the injured out quickly.

sure looks like a warbird with tube and cloth seats in the crew chief position.

id've done the same in thier position!

[Gerard]

sure looks like a warbird with tube and cloth seats in the crew chief position.
id've done the same in thier position!

Do they still have the plan in effect to call in private helicopters in case of a major disaster? I know they actually practiced this at FRG some years back. Many of the big companies
around here had their aircraft involved. We are very lucky around here (Tri-State area) with many police, EMS, military rotor assets available but you never know.