On September 16, 2011, ''The Galloping Ghost'', a highly modified North American P-51D Mustang racing aircraft, crashed into spectators while competing at the

Reno Air Races The Reno Air Races, officially known as the STIHL National Championship Air Races from 2016, is a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada. ...

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, killing the pilot, James K. "Jimmy" Leeward, and ten people on the ground. Sixty-nine more people on the ground were injured. It was the third-deadliest airshow disaster in U.S. history, following accidents in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and 1951.

Accident

During the 2011 Reno Air Races, James Leeward and ''The Galloping Ghost'' were in third place and had just rounded pylon number 8 when the aircraft abruptly pitched up, rolled inverted, then nosedived. The aircraft hit the

apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...

at over in front of the grandstands in an area containing box seating, disintegrating on impact. There was no fire. Seven people, including the pilot, died at the crash site; four died later in the hospital. The weekend's remaining races at the Reno Air Races were canceled.

Aircraft

''The Galloping Ghost'' was a highly modified former fighter plane that had come out of retirement the previous year after undergoing major modifications, including removal of the underbelly radiator and installation of a "boil-off" cooling system, as well as other modifications that the owner described as designed to make the plane more efficient. The former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

aircraft,

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

44-15651, was owned by Aero Trans Corp in

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The wings had been clipped a further each side on top of the reduction in span earlier in its life. The aircraft had a long history of successful competition in air races, dating back to the National Air Races from 1946 to 1949 in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. It was flown by a series of pilots under a variety of names, including ''Miss Candace'' from 1969 to 1978 and ''Jeannie'' in 1981. Leeward called the modifications of the plane "radical", stating that the oil system was similar to an oil cooling system in the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

. The canopy was about the size of the ones on

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

aircraft. The modifications were meant to improve aerodynamics by reducing drag and hence increase top speed.

Previous incidents

On September 18, 1970, the airplane (then known as ''Miss Candace'') crashed while attempting an

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

caused by an engine failure during that year's Reno Air Races at Reno-Stead Airport. During the landing the plane's longer propeller, modified for racing, clipped the runway surface, causing the plane to drift off the edge of the runway, collapsing part of the landing gear but causing only minor injuries to the pilot, Dr. Cliff Cummins. In 1998, another modified P-51 Mustang, ''

Voodoo Chile "Voodoo Chile" ( ) is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded in 1968 for the third Jimi Hendrix Experience album ''Electric Ladyland''. It is based on the Muddy Waters blues song " Rollin' Stone", but with original lyrics and music. At 15 min ...

'', lost a left trim tab during the Reno Air Races. The pilot, Bob "Hurricane" Hannah, reported that the airplane pitched up, subjecting him to more than 10 '' g'' and knocking him unconscious. When he regained consciousness, the plane had climbed to more than 9,000 feet (2,750 m), and he brought it in for a safe landing. This aircraft (having been renamed to ''Voodoo'') was in attendance at the 2011 race and was nearby at the time of the accident. In 1999, another highly modified P-51, ''

Miss Ashley II ''Miss Ashley II'' was a custom-built racing aircraft based on the North American P-51 Mustang. Design and development Built by Bill L. Rogers in 1996, ''Miss Ashley II'' was a P-51R; a hybrid aircraft consisting of the fuselage of a P-51D fu ...

'', piloted by Gary Levitz, experienced rudder flutter during an unlimited race at the Reno Air Races. The airframe broke up, killing Levitz.

Investigation

The day after the crash, the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

(NTSB) began examining whether part of the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...

had come off before the crash. A photograph taken just before the crash showed the airplane inverted and part of the left elevator

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a pa ...

missing. On October 21, 2011, NTSB investigators said that they found no readable onboard video amid the debris of the racing plane. However, they were still attempting to extract information from an onboard data memory card found among damaged aircraft components and other debris scattered over more than two acres following the crash, as well as hundreds of photos and dozens of videos provided by spectators. The NTSB thoroughly investigated the extensive modifications made to the airplane. The modifications had made the aircraft lighter and reduced drag but decreased stability. Leeward took the plane to during the race, about faster than he had gone previously. There was evidence of extreme stress on the airframe demonstrated by buckling of the fuselage aft of the wing and gaps appearing between the fuselage and the canopy during the flight (visible in high-resolution photographs taken by spectators). The investigation report, released in August 2012, found that the probable cause of the crash was reused single-use locknuts in the left elevator trim tab system that loosened. This led to a fatigue crack in an attachment screw and allowed the trim tab to flutter. This flutter caused the trim tab link assembly to fail, which led to the loss of control of the aircraft. Untested and undocumented modifications to the airplane contributed to the accident. Particularly, the right trim tab had been fixed in place. Had both trim tabs been operational, the loss of the left trim tab alone may not have caused the loss of control. When the trim tab failed, Leeward experienced 17 ''g'', which quickly incapacitated him and likely rendered him unconscious."Pilot/Race 177, The Galloping Ghost North American P-51D, N79111 Reno, Nevada September 16, 2011 Accident Brief NTSB/AAB-12/01"
In 2012, the NTSB released seven safety recommendations to be applied to future air races. These included course design and layout further away from the spectators stands, pre-race inspections, airworthiness of aircraft modifications,

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

guidance, pilot g-force awareness, and ramp safety.

References

External links

A video of the crash taken from the grandstands

A clearer video of the crash, taken from further away

A recording of the emergency radio traffic, including Reno EMS (REMSA), fire, and police

katu.com. September 20, 2011.
Information about the plane (44-15651) on MustangsMustangs.com

* ttps://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAB1201.pdf Final NTSB Accident Brief AAB-12/01 {{DEFAULTSORT:Reno Air Races crash, 2011 2011 in Nevada Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2011 Aviation accidents and incidents at air shows Aviation accidents and incidents in Nevada North American P-51 Mustang September 2011 events in the United States Filmed deaths in motorsport