P-51 Crashes !!

[aggie97]

The report said that the gaps were "due to extreme stress on the airframe," noting that he had flown 40mph faster than the plane had ever gone that day.

yep...forgot that part. errors of speed reading. They also had a picture of the canopy flexing open. Amazing pictures really.

[zachary]

you mean the body?

yes

[Big A]

The report said that the gaps were "due to extreme stress on the airframe," noting that he had flown 40mph faster than the plane had ever gone that day.

[aggie97]

Very interesting report. Perhaps I missed it, but what were they attributing the wrinkles in the fuselage to?

they didn't say, they were merely noting it, along with the other failures in load design to generally say the aircraft was not modified properly for the intended use of higher loads well beyond the original design.

What the report basically did was crucify the guy/team that designed, modified and maintained the aircraft. All those that were killed or injured have valid claims against that group. Hope their insurance is paid up.

[CJ]

How do they identify the pilot in situations like that? I assume there is not much left, just by record of him boarding the plane?

you mean the body?

[zachary]

How do they identify the pilot in situations like that? I assume there is not much left, just by record of him boarding the plane?

[diablo rojo]

Very interesting report. Perhaps I missed it, but what were they attributing the wrinkles in the fuselage to?

[4bangen]

Interesting read, still a real sad event. A friend of mine knew the pilot well. They were both air racers, he's in a chair, and his friend was killed. Not a sport for bitches that’s for sure!

No big surprise there.

[CJ]

The NTSB released it's findings:

http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2012/AAB1201.pdf

[turboford]

Why file in Collin County? Judge shoping??? Seems like it should be relocated to Reno instead being that the deaths were in that jurisdiction.

[ceyko]

You want to do something? Take them to court and force new testing rules. Force more stringent pre-flight checks. Don't angrily grab at money like it will bring back a dead person under the guise of "teaching them a lesson."

This is well put.

[Strychnine]

Honestly, IMO, the pilot was to blame since the plane hadn't been tested before the race. Where it goes from there, well.. Lives were lost.

$25MM to the same people who say it's something "no amount of money could fix"?

No amount... but we'll start here and see what sticks!

Why is death always about money?

Don't punish the world for one's transgressions. If he had bailed out and let the plane sail into the crowd killing someone while he lived I might feel differently. But he's dead. He paid the ultimate price for his supposed misdeed and he also has a grieving network of family and friends who are just as torn up.

You want to do something? Take them to court and force new testing rules. Force more stringent pre-flight checks. Don't angrily grab at money like it will bring back a dead person under the guise of "teaching them a lesson."


There are no safety fences or jersey barriers in the sky. If you choose to stand under highly modified planes screaming over your head at 500mph and can't accept that bad shit could happen...

[CJ]

It was bound to happen. I hope the air race attorneys intervene and absolve the family of any liability. If they don't then every pilot is going to realize the liability they share racing (which already costs a fortune) and might kill the events all together.

[racrguy]

Bullshit.

Complete bullshit.


Why do the family members of a dead person feel entitled to $25MM?

True or false: The victims were there of their own accord?

True or false: The victims, while watching an unlimited class air race, knew of the inherrant risk of the activity and of being near it?

WTF happened to personal responsibility?


$25 million lawsuit filed in Reno air race crash

I agree with you. I'm not sure about the air races, but whenever I sign in to go auto racing, I see countless signs, and sign a waiver releasing the track from liability of something happening to me, and that I know racing is dangerous/lethal. There are even signs on most spectator entrances that say something similar.