Reno Air Crash

I debated whether to post it, because I find the image pretty disturbing, but also very interesting. I love air shows and air races. I love the concept of the rocket racing league and the Red Bull air races.

But, this brings home just one more time why aircraft are so damn scary. When things go wrong in the air, everything can go to hell very quickly.

Which is what happened at Reno. The modified P-51 mustang was rebuilt for racing, which means it was more tail heavy and had shorter wings. It also meant that the aircraft could hit around 500mph. Current thinking is that an elevator trim tab (which basically holds control surfaces in a certain place so that the pilot does not have to) broke off, causing the aircraft to pitch up, the (72yr old) pilot to black out and the plane to dive in to the stands, killing 10 and injuring 66.

I don't know what pre-flight inspections are done, what kind of g's pilots must be capable of handling, or how close to the course the stands were set up, but it seems pretty clear it was not enough.