Reno air crash ( P51 )

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by bongodriver

Exactly!.....it is pure speculation at this time......sadly the aftermath looks like it is going to give little information as the impact seems to have left very little to examine....but I noticed something particularily stange with the image, the tailwheel is in the extended position, normally this is fully retracted, that immediately makes me suspect mechanical failure, the fact the pilot is not visible is extremely tenuous evidence, the cockpit is highly modified and the pilot is barely visible under normal circumstances.

yeah, noticed the tailwheel too. The servo is hydraulic and connected to the main landing gear hydraulic line. Another wild guess of mine could be that he accidentally hit the emergency gear release, but the main gears didn't open cos he's pitching down and diving.

You'd still be able to see the head Bongo, these guys are well strapped in.

[bongodriver]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

yeah, noticed the tailwheel too. The servo is hydraulic and connected to the main landing gear hydraulic line. Another wild guess of mine could be that he accidentally hit the emergency gear release, but the main gears didn't open cos he's pitching down and diving.

You'd still be able to see the head Bongo, these guys are well strapped in.

yes even if he was already dead, theres a good chance he has his head throws so far back in anticipation of the impact that is why he is not visible.....maybe

[Feathered_IV]

Awful.

Was rather shocked to hear the pilot was 74 years old. I'm curious what age one has to be before they actually become too old to fly souped-up fighters at breakneck speed on the deck.

[diveplane]

Originally Posted by Feathered_IV

Awful.

Was rather shocked to hear the pilot was 74 years old. I'm curious what age one has to be before they actually become too old to fly souped-up fighters at breakneck speed on the deck.

well maybe this will wake a few up that are in charge, and decide safer better FAA regulation air display rules.

typical always takes a disaster for changes to be made.

wont bring these people back though ..RIP

[diveplane]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

yeah, noticed the tailwheel too. The servo is hydraulic and connected to the main landing gear hydraulic line. Another wild guess of mine could be that he accidentally hit the emergency gear release, but the main gears didn't open cos he's pitching down and diving.

You'd still be able to see the head Bongo, these guys are well strapped in.

well his heads nowhere to be seen in the pic? weird stuff indeed.
my only other guess was he was trying to bail , managed to unclip his seat harness, g forces slumped him forward, hence you cant see his head in pic?

[bongodriver]

Originally Posted by diveplane

well his heads nowhere to be seen in the pic? weird stuff indeed.
my only other guess was he was trying to bail , managed to unclip his seat harness, g forces slumped him forward, hence you cant see his head in pic?

Yeah but this is where the speculation circus begins.....we could argue and debate in complete circles over any incident like this, only the professionals will give any kind of reasoned explanation.

My only real stance in this topic is that age is not relevant, a young guy could die suddenly, a young guy will make mistakes that his youthfull reactions can't compensate for........it's just irrelevant.

[JG52Krupi]

Originally Posted by bongodriver

Yeah but this is where the speculation circus begins.....we could argue and debate in complete circles over any incident like this, only the professionals will give any kind of reasoned explanation.

My only real stance in this topic is that age is not relevant, a young guy could die suddenly, a young guy will make mistakes that his youthfull reactions can't compensate for........it's just irrelevant.

I agree with your what you say but that being said it is a high speed race and at that age you should be taking things a bit easier.

[winny]

It is strange that his head is not in view.

For anyone who's not seen these.



Same plane just before taking off



Awful whatever happened.

[diveplane]

Originally Posted by bongodriver

Yeah but this is where the speculation circus begins.....we could argue and debate in complete circles over any incident like this, only the professionals will give any kind of reasoned explanation.

My only real stance in this topic is that age is not relevant, a young guy could die suddenly, a young guy will make mistakes that his youthfull reactions can't compensate for........it's just irrelevant.

well imo age is relevant , high g fighter and a 74 year old man behind the controls .

1= heart attack
2= g load


younger man can tolerate it more over a pensioner in the sky, past his best flying days, should have retired to flying cessnas straight and level.

even better retired grounded.

relevent to me for safer displays and skies.
.....

quicker the FAA or authorites step in imply new restrictions the better.

[ElAurens]

One of my squad mates was 100 yards from the crash.

He and his companions are OK, at least physically.

Please stop this uninformed speculation and childish debate.

It serves no purpose other than to make cheap the lives that were lost and the lives that were scarred because of this tragedy.

Take some time to be thankful for your loved ones and the time you have with them.

*EDIT*

There is another photo that shows the left elevator trim tab missing. So let's not cherry pick photos, OK?