How bout them air races!

[JonnydaJibba]

Stinky.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296742,00.html

RENO, Nev. — For the second time in three days, a pilot was killed in a crash Thursday at the Reno National Championship Air Races.

Brad Morehouse of Afton, Wyo., was "killed instantly" when his jet crashed about 2:45 p.m., touching off a small brush fire along the runway at Stead Airport just north of Reno, said Michael Houghton, president of the air races.

It marked the 17th fatality in the 44-year history of the races.

Morehouse, co-owner of Afton Flight Service in Wyoming, was flying an L-39 Albatross he named "Dino Juice," a jet often used for military flight training.

He was flying in the second heat of the jet class competition. He had finished fourth in Wednesday's qualifying round, reaching a maximum speed of 504 mph, race officials said.

The crash, first reported on the Reno Gazette-Journal's Web site, forced the suspension of Thursday's afternoon competition. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze.

The cause of the crash was under investigation but race officials said the initial indication was Morehouse may have gotten caught in the wake of a jet he was tailing.

Houghton said he expected the races to resume on Friday.

"I don't see any reason why they shouldn't race tomorrow," Houghton told reporters at a news conference at the airport. "That is what Brad Morehouse would have wanted us to do."

Steve Dari, a pilot from Lemon Grove, Calif., was killed when his biplane stalled shortly after takeoff during a practice run at the air races on Tuesday. His fatal crash had been the first at the races since 2002.

Craig Shelley, a longtime friend of Morehouse's, told the Gazette-Journal he heard about his death while monitoring the races from his home in Mesa, Ariz.

"He was one of the greatest human beings I've ever known," Shelley said.

2 more crashes just this morning!
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/9784912.html

WTF mate^^

[cody]

Sheesh. The first one (on Tues.) was a mechanical failure right?

[Dean]

I think at some point, the RedBull type racing will take over from multiple planes on course on an oval.

[sperry]

Am I reading this correctly?

- Biplane crash on take-off on Tuesday, 1 fatality
- Jet crash Thursday from wake turbulence, 1 fatality
- F1 plane has mechanical, crashes taking 2 others with him, 1 fatality, one bailed out, one at the hospital

So that's 5 crashed planes, and three fatalities? That's horrible! Hell, that's worse than 1960's Formula 1. Why is this sport still around? I think Dean may be right about a format change being needed... and even then, since it's airplanes not cars, crashes are nearly always fatal... so even solo racing may not be a good idea.

[MPREZIV]

The inherent risk is something each of the pilots take upon themselves, knowingly, but I must agree that solo racing seems that it would be MUCH safer.

Sucks to hear about so many people losing their lives, but at least they were doing what they loved...

[JonnydaJibba]

I think the crashes today were just 2 planes w/one fatality.

[cody]

I hate crashing.

[Joeyy]

Originally Posted by cody

I hate crashing.

Keep that Pussy Wagon in one piece, please.

[100_Percent_Juice]

removed

[DARKSTI]

<edited>
These pilots are very skilled and accidents happen. In 44 years there has only been 17 or 18 fatalities, that is not to shabby for a sport where there are 5-8 planes going 200mph-500mph within feet of each other 50ft above the ground.

Things will happen, I don't see people joking about the pilots who gave their lives during the many test flights throughout the years who have given their lives for better and safer planes. Heck, on the way home I realized it is just like driving, you are right next to someone and sometimes one of you will make a mistake and sometimes that will kill both of of you but it most likely won't since you are the ground.

The only difference between air and car racing is that you are in the air and there are no crash guards, so if something happens it will probably be very bad. Luckily a skilled pilot was able to land and not be another loss this year. Safety is always #1 in any pilots mind, they also know the risks and will not be stupid in any part of what they do.

Air racing has been around for years and hopefully will continue to be, a lot of the best pilots in the world have air raced or support it, and will continue to support it. If the races die it would be a tragedy for Reno and the whole world of aviation.


If any of this sounds a little garbled it is because I am very tired and stressed. I saw the crash and am covering it as press not to mention being a huge aviation guy. My grandpa was also a pilot in Vietnam so it really pisses me off when people do not know what they are talking about and write without thinking.

[sperry]

+1 on DARKSTI's comments...

Air Racing is kinda where F1 was back in the 60's. Whereas F1 had the opportunity to make tracks and cars safer, air racing is kinda foiled by the laws of physics as far as bumping up crash survivability, simply because a plane that can survive a 500 mph crash tends to be too heavy to fly.

While the pilots know what they're getting themselves into, the loss of these folks is still tragic, especially since it likely won't lead to safety improvements, it will lead to the termination of the sport.

[100_Percent_Juice]

I didn't mean to make a joke about anyone dying and I am sorry. I go to the air races every year and my great Uncle Wayne was general of the Airguard for years. I have the utmost respect for them and it is sad what has happened.

[DARKSTI]

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

I didn't mean to make a joke about anyone dying and I am sorry. I go to the air races every year and my great Uncle Wayne was general of the Airguard for years. I have the utmost respect for them and it is sad what has happened.

Thank you, didn't mean to jump on you like that but like I said I have had a stressful week covering the races and it just ticked me off.

[100_Percent_Juice]

I understand. I too am in a weird mood that is most likely responsible for the bad joke. Please edit the quote from your post so no one else takes offense.

[DARKSTI]

Originally Posted by sperry

+1 on DARKSTI's comments...

Air Racing is kinda where F1 was back in the 60's. Whereas F1 had the opportunity to make tracks and cars safer, air racing is kinda foiled by the laws of physics as far as bumping up crash survivability, simply because a plane that can survive a 500 mph crash tends to be too heavy to fly.

While the pilots know what they're getting themselves into, the loss of these folks is still tragic, especially since it likely won't lead to safety improvements, it will lead to the termination of the sport.

There really is nothing to improve,but that does not mean that the sport needs to be terminated. Like I said, test pilots face the same danger and also lose their lives sometimes. Not to mention loosing our AF pilots in Iraq/Afghanistan/Vietnam etc.

I guess what I am getting at is that this is unusual to loose even one life at the races, sadly it has just been a bad year in general for airshows. Car races have had years like this also. People don't realize that a a lot of the accidents can happen to regular airplanes also, like an engine failing just after take-off, or getting caught in wake turbulence, there are even mid-air collisions that happen in general aviation.

I really believe that we will move on and hopefully not loose anyone else this year and have a better year next year. I will fight hard if there is any talk about stopping the races, it brings me back to the days when aviation was still growing and pushing it limits. In the long run we will learn from it and use it to our advantage.

[DARKSTI]

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

I understand. I too am in a weird mood that is most likely responsible for the bad joke. Please edit the quote from your post so no one else takes offense.

Done