Nevada air show death toll rises to 9

Sep 18, 2011, 2:31 GMT

San Francisco - At least nine people died and dozens were injured when a World War II-era plane crashed into a crowd of spectators at an air show in the US state of Nevada, local authorities said Saturday.

Six spectators and the pilot died in the Nevada accident on Friday, according to Reno police. Two more spectators among 54 people transported to local hospitals died later.

Another vintage aircraft also crashed at an air show in West Virginia on Saturday, killing the pilot. No spectators were injured.

Reno deputy police chief Dave Evans said 17 people were hospitalized Saturday.

The P51 Mustang plane called the 'Galloping Ghost,' was flown by well-known stunt pilot and racing veteran Jimmy Leeward, who died on impact.

Witnesses said the pilot appeared to be trying to steer the plane away from the crowds shortly before crashing into the ground in front of a grandstand filled with spectators at the Reno National Championship Air Races, sending debris hurtling into the crowd.

Mike Houghton, Reno Air Racing Association chief, said the crash appeared to have been caused by mechanical failure.

Mark Rosekind of the National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday that the plane was 'very unlikely' to have been equipped with voice and data recorders, so-called black boxes.

The focus now is on gathering factual information,' he said.

Photos and video of the plane in the air before the crash showed a possible piece missing from the tail. Rosekind said a part had been found on the ground, but investigators need to confirm if it is from the P51 Mustang and collecting photo and video evidence from witnesses.

'We are very clearly going to focus on that,' he said.

The pilot was considered extremely experienced. He had been taking part in flying competitions since the mid-1970s, according to his Facebook page. He had also performed as a stuntman in several films, according to movie database IMDb.com.

In the West Virginia accident, a plane from a team of T-28 Trojans crashed coming out of a belly-to-belly manoeuvre with another aircraft, the Martinsburg Journal-News reported. The plane was built in 1958.

'We were fortunate that the safety measures put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration ensured the safety of those on the ground,' said Major General James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, which hosted the airshow, the remainder of which was cancelled.