NTSB: Piece of airframe separated from aircraft before deadly Reno crash

NTSB: Piece of airframe separated from aircraft before deadly Reno crash

2011-09-24 00:21:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

RENO (BNO NEWS) -- The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday said a piece of airframe separated from a World War II-era plane before it crashed during the Reno Air Races at Reno-Stead Airport in Nevada last week, killing 11 people.

The accident happened at around 4.30 p.m. local time on September 16 when a P-51D Mustang known as The Galloping Ghost, being flown by 74-year-old Jimmy Leeward from Florida, crashed into a box seat area in front of the main grandstand. Eleven people, including Leeward, were killed while 74 others were injured.

In a preliminary report released on Friday, the NTSB said the airplane had completed several laps and was in a steep left turn towards the home pylon when, according to photographic evidence, the airplane suddenly banked momentarily to the left before banking to the right, turning away from the race course, and pitching to a steep nose-high attitude.

"Witnesses reported and photographic evidence indicates that a piece of the airframe separated during these maneuvers," the report said. "After roll and pitch variations, the airplane descended in an extremely nose-low attitude and collided with the ground in the box seat area near the center of the grandstand seating area."

Investigators from both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) examined the wreckage on site in the days after the crash and then transported it to a secure storage facility for a more detailed examination. The investigators have documented the debris field and identified various components of the airplane's control system and control surfaces.

"The airplane's ground crew noted that the airplane had a telemetry system that broadcast data to a ground station as well as recorded it to a box on board the airplane," the report said. "The crew provided the ground station telemetry data, which includes engine parameters and global positioning satellite system data to the NTSB for analysis. The onboard data box, which sustained crush damage, was sent to the NTSB's Vehicle Recorder laboratory for examination."

Investigators have also recovered pieces of a camera housing and multiple detached memory cards from the airplane's onboard camera that were in the debris field. The memory cards and numerous still and video image recordings were also sent to the Vehicle Recorders laboratory for evaluation.

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