NTSB makes safety recommendations for Reno air races

Apr. 11, 2012
NTSB makes safety recommendations for Reno air races
Timothy Sandoval | McClatchy Newspapers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- ]

Investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board released recommendations Tuesday to make the Reno, Nev., air races safer for pilots and fans in the wake of the plane crash last year that killed nearly a dozen people.

The recommendations include requiring aircraft that have undergone heavy alterations to undergo test flights and engineering evaluations and reviewing how to make modifications to the race course to make it safer for spectators.

James Leeward, a 74-year-old pilot, crashed his 1944 P-51 Mustang into a box seat area at Reno's National Championship Air Races last September, killing 11 people, including himself, and injuring 74 others.

Investigators are still trying to find out exactly what factors caused the crash, they said, which could take a few more months.

But they said it was likely that Leeward was incapacitated when his airplane flew more than 500 mph, shot violently upward, and exceeded its accelerometer's G-9 force limit. That means the force that was exerted on Leeward was nine times what a normal pilot would experience. This likely rushed blood to his brain, incapacitating him, the NTSB said.

"Our investigation revealed that this pilot, in this airplane, had never flown at this speed, on this course," NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said at a Reno news conference.

The NTSB recommended that the Reno Air Racing Association provide training to pilots on how to deal with gravitational forces, and evaluate the feasibility of requiring pilots to wear G-suits, which would reduce the impact that gravitational forces would pose to pilots.

Hersman said that Leeward's aircraft, called The Galloping Ghost, had undergone numerous alterations to make it faster and more competitive in racing, including reducing the wing size by 8 feet and other significant changes to its flight controls.

Investigators are still determining whether or not the modifications were a factor in the crash.

The NTSB recommended that pilots in the unlimited class be required to provide an engineering evaluation with flight demonstrations and analysis for aircraft that has undergone any major alterations.

The RARA should also evaluate how it can make modifications to its race course to make the event safer for spectators, including adding barriers for protection, Hersman said.

Tickets for this year's Reno air race in September have already gone on sale.

But the RARA still must get approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and a license from the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority to hold the show.

In a statement, the FAA noted that it was already working with the RARA to address the NTSB's recommendations.

"Safety is FAA's top priority, and the agency continues to work closely with air race organizations and conduct thorough inspections to ensure compliance with FAA safety regulations," the FAA said in the statement.

Mike Houghton, RARA president, told The Associated Press that most of the recommendations were "doable," and that the RARA had already implemented the G-force training.

But he said that requiring G-force suits might be difficult for pilots because modified planes are cramped, and because the suits cost $14,000 to $20,000, according to the AP.