Reno crash affects Strathmore resident

Times Reporter

 

A terrible accident in Reno, Nevada on Sept. 16 made headlines all over the world, and one Strathmore man was there when it happened. 

Robin Murray, a pilot for Westjet, has been going to the Reno Air Races since the early 80’s, and was one of the spectators of the crash, which resulted in 11 people being killed as of Sept. 23. 

“Jimmy Leeward, the pilot who died in the crash, was flying a highly modified P51 Mustang called the ‘Galloping Ghost’. He was coming around the last pylon and then you could see something was wrong, he started wobbling and pitching up,” said Murray. “Then he turned and was heading out over the crowd which is very unusual, there is a line  called the ‘dead zone’ designed to keep the airplanes a safe distance from the crowd and the pilots normally never cross it. So when he did cross it I knew there was something seriously wrong.

“He was climbing out over the crowd approximately 300 to 400 feet above us and I thought he was going to miss everything and just keep going behind us. Then the airplane just started rolling to the left and then rolled inverted, upside down, and then basically just come straight down, right into the crowd.”

The aircraft crashed into the box seats just forward of the grandstand in a near vertical attitude, said Murray, but was  slightly pointed toward the ramp which was a good thing because the shrapnel blew out towards the ramp instead of into the crowd. There has been speculation that a piece of the tail, called a trim tab, came off and could possibly be the cause of the crash. 

“I was in the bleachers, but the next section over, about 150 feet away from where it hit. For a second it was coming at me, and I thought  to myself there is no where to go, then it started to roll a little more to the left as it came in, and missed me. The whole thing happened in seconds but seemed like it took five minutes for it to crash,” said Murray. 

“There was a very loud smacking sound at impact and then it sounded like tin cans hitting the ground as pieces of the aircraft slid across the ramp. The aircraft completely disintegrated, there was nothing left, only pieces the size of my hand and dust. What was left of the engine flew about 300 ft away out on to the ramp. Luckily there was no fire but I could smell racing fuel. After that it was pretty much mayhem. I think everybody was just in shock at what had just happened. The scene afterwards is something I’ll never forget and never want to see again. I’ve seen crashes there before and pilots have died but never has a spectator been injured or killed to my knowledge.

“I’ve been going to those races since 1983 … I try to go every year, and have only missed a few years. It is normally a really good time as there is the racing along with other air show acts. I’m a pilot too and I love those airplanes. It’s kind of sad to see something you love cause that much injury, death and damage.” 

Leeward, 74, had been racing planes since the mid-seventies, and the Galloping Ghost, a P51 Mustang had been used in races since 1946. The Ghost had been modified for racing, and could fly at speeds close to 500 mph. Leeward and the Ghost had the longest racing career of any other active pilot or aircraft before the tragedy occurred.