It’s not as if this is something new. Planes have been crashing in air shows every single year for decades.
The death toll form the accident at the Reno National Championship Air Races on Friday, September 16th, 2011 has risen to 9. It’s now known that there were 70 injuries with 15 of those spectators in critical condition.
The summer has been brutal thus far at the air shows with 9 plane crashes and 14 deaths.
The question has to be raised: Are Air Shows F$%ked?
It’s obvious that the majority of air shows go down with out a hitch. I personally love air shows and don’t plan on ceasing to attend them, but it’s very clear that there is some imminent danger at these shows.
Will the FAA do something about air shows in the US? Tighter restriction? Less shows? Stop them all together?
It sounds like friggin’ war out there:
“I saw body parts and gore like you wouldn’t believe it. I’m talking an arm, a leg. The alive people were missing body parts. I am not kidding you. It was gore. Unbelievable gore.” – Maureen Higgins in reference to 2011 Reno Air Race.
The remainder of the Air Races have been canceled for 2011 following the Reno Air Race tragedy.
From Wikipedia:
Air Show Accidents 2011:
- September 17 – A T-28 aircraft crashed during the Thunder over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show in Martinsburg, West Virginia.[1]
- September 16 – 2011 Reno Air Races crash – Pilot Jimmy Leeward lost control of his plane and crashed into spectators at the National Championship Air Races and Air Show, killing at least nine people, including the pilot. More than 60 people were injured, at least 15 of them critically.[2]
- August 21 – Wing Walker Todd Green fell 200 feet after attempting an aircraft transfer from a Stearman to a Helicopter at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base Air Show. He was seriously injured and taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. [3]
- August 20 – A Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team “Red Arrows” aircraft (BAE Hawk T1) crashed after performing at an air show in Bournemouth, Dorset, U.K. The pilot issued a Mayday call at 1:50pm, and was witnessed to have plunged into the ground next to the river Stour, near the village of Throop. The pilot, 33-year old Flt Lt Jon Egging, was killed in the crash. [4]
- August 20 – Stunt pilot Bryan Jensen was killed when his modified Pitts 12 “The Beast” crashed at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport at the Kansas City Airshow in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, around 1:30pm. [5]
- July 10 – A replica Fokker Dr.I lost power at about 600 ft (180 m) above the ground during a mock dogfight at the Geneseo Air Show. The pilot, 67-year old Joseph Auger, attempted a controlled powerless glide, but the landing gear got caught on cornstalks and flipped over. The pilot was able to extricate himself from the wreckage and sustained only minor injuries.[3]
- July 3 – A Bucker Jungmann belonging to the Shuttleworth Collection crashed during a practice for that day’s display. The pilot walked away from the crash suffering only slight injuries. [6]
- June 4 – 71-year-old Bill Phipps, experienced Campbell River, British Columbia pilot severely injured while performing aerobatics at the Wings and Wheels event at Nanaimo Airport, British Columbia. [7]
- March 12 – While performing their Pirated Skies wing walking act, Kyle and Amanda Franklin were severely injured when their Waco JMF-7 nicknamed “Mystery Ship”, suffered an apparent engine failure at the CAF 2011 Air Fiesta in Brownsville, TX. Both were listed as in stable condition with burns covering more than 60% of their bodies. Kyle’s burns were not as serious as first reported. Amanda had successful surgery March 16, and was believed to have a good recovery chance at that time, but died on May 27.[8]
August 20th, 2011 biplane crash at air show.
