Airshows should be cancelled for a bit me thinks...

[RyanShort1]

Nathan,

Bill's right...

I've heard those same stories about it being safe, but alas, our kind of flying is only safer than driving a motorcycle - and after this year, I wondering how long that statistic will last. Of course that isn't keeping me from flying. I'm just glad my family puts up with me. Especially lately with the instrument course. It's kind of weird. I witnessed a fatal 172 crash just as I was starting the PPL. I've never gotten that off my mind, and now, just as I'm finishing up the IFR rating, I'm being confronted with aviation safety issues and crashes again. I just hope that I can learn all I can, never take unnecessary risks, and move on with increased awareness and caution.

Ryan

[Lynn Allen]

Im gona bite the bullet, Reno needs to be cancelled. Too much death and crashes.

The racing has had 3 crashes in 3 days.. something is going horribly wrong.

Ive mates there and i suspect at this rate some will become mentally sick by end of the week if it keeps going.

The USA airshow circut this year is going bad too many people are dying.

Its either bad luck, maintence failing or inexpereince at play in all issues.

Maybe people just need to step back , stop flying recheck everthing for any airshow and then carefully proceed...

Bad enough to loose planes, worse to loose rare planes, tragic to loose people

Anyone agree?

No.

2nd No here, but we better cancel Nascar while we're at it as well...
Want to see the real thing, go into Teterboro or anywhere in the New York area via IFR

Lynn

[Hal B]

Im gona bite the bullet, Reno needs to be cancelled. Too much death and crashes.

The racing has had 3 crashes in 3 days.. something is going horribly wrong.

Ive mates there and i suspect at this rate some will become mentally sick by end of the week if it keeps going.

The USA airshow circut this year is going bad too many people are dying.

Its either bad luck, maintence failing or inexpereince at play in all issues.

Maybe people just need to step back , stop flying recheck everthing for any airshow and then carefully proceed...

Bad enough to loose planes, worse to loose rare planes, tragic to loose people

Anyone agree?

No!

[marine air]

Sabredriver that same thought crossed my mind today also. When I was in the Marines, I think it was Janyuary of 1982, the Navy had an emergency mandatory standdown of all Naval Aviaton, including the 4 Marine Air Wings . There had been a lot of accidents in December and they continued into January. A-4's, F-4's, P-3's, AV8-A's, you name it they were falling out of the skies. Basically the top brass said "stop everything till we find out what the heck is going on."
They resumed after a couple of days , and said it had a lot to do with complacency, back order of parts, and lack of training hours. We did a lot of ground training and deferred aircraft maintenance during those days to get our attention on safety and operational readiness.
Maybe they should stand down on Saturday and resume on Sunday if at all?

[smclinton]

I know I am only a lurker to this board for the most part, however, we can only live one lifetime. As much as we would like a do-over, it is not possible. Much like Gary Austin has showed us (Thank you again), we want and need to realize a goal or dream. For some, a goal is a low time pilot flying to and from Oshkosh for the first time without burning as much of as a quart of oil in an old 172. For others, it is pushing the envelope of themselves and their aircraft at Reno. Our fate is not a choice, but a chance. I feel that the tragedies that have befallen the warbird/racing community this year have not been in vane. If we can understand and explain why these losses are important, then the community as a whole will heal and grow from these tragedies. Sometimes, something as tragic as death brings life to others. For every Gerry Beck, Jim Leroy, and those who have perished this week at Reno, we can only pray that two more will fill their place and advance the movement twice as far as those wonderful individuals have. While less vocal as others, I want to let my voice resound that "Lest We Forget". The greatest tragedy in life is to give up.

[Randy Haskin]

I witnessed a fatal 172 crash just as I was starting the PPL.

Ryan -

Was that the USAF Lieutenant who crashed at Stinson a couple years ago?

[muddyboots]

17 deaths in 44 years. 3 of them in oe year?
that's almost 20% of the dead in 2% of the races. That's bad enough to cancell them for the year, IMHO. There's something wrong there, is seems. Better for pilot (and audience safety) to cancel it, thus ensuring they don't get a reputation and get closed permanently by outside forces.
But what do I know, right?

Your calculations are not statistically significant. There is no pattern to these incidents. The only common theme is that the planes were all flying. Similar accidents to these have happened in the past at Reno, but not so many in one year. The pilots all know the risks and there are pylon clinics and safety briefings for the racers. Don't know any of the pilots lost, but I suspect all are far more accomplished than I. I will let the experts deconstruct the accidents so we can learn from them. It is far too early and we are all insufficently trained to draw conclusions from the limited information available.

I wasn't a witness, but from all I've read the audience was never at risk in any of these accidents. Please don't go there unless you have some definitive proof.

I should have been clearer. I apologize.
I'm not saying any of that is in my personal opinion important. I'm just saying that in this wonderful world we live in, that they could be used to shut them down. I don't need proof of anything to point out what general public opinion will be. We do, after all, live in a world where medicine bottles have safety caps because parents can't be arsed to put them where thier children can't eat the whole bottle...Public paranoia is a great and terrible thing...

[dors]

Anyone agree?

Nope, not even slightly.

[6trn4brn]

I was at Dayton this year and witnessed the horrific crash that took the life of Jim Leroy in front of his family. While it was a traumatic event to witness, I for one am not deterred at all from going to any more airshows. I have been to countless shows and this was the first serious mishap I have ever witnessed. I think that any performer at an airshow or at Reno would tell you that they will perform if they think there are more than two people enjoying watching them do what they enjoy doing.

I guess my only question would be do we have more racers at Reno than in other years? And if so, has there been some reason to maybe rush through the safety seminars, causing some minute laxing of the safety rules?

I hope that the rash of accidents this year at airshows/Reno do not deter anyone from attending their favorite shows and helping support their favorite performers.

[Dave Fish]

Friday's Reno collision involved our own CAF member Jason Somes. According to our local newspaper, Jason suffered non-life-threatening injuries and will be released from a local hospital on Sunday and will return home.

In the collision, the canopy of Jason's plane came off and hit him in the face. According to a friend at the show, he said Jason suffered "some pretty deep cuts" to his face but is fine and "Jason's incredible pilot skills saved his life".

While we are lucky to be able to see Jason again, our prayers go out to the other pilots and their families who did not survive these tragedies.

Dave
CAF - SoCal Wing

[RyanShort1]

I witnessed a fatal 172 crash just as I was starting the PPL.

Ryan -

Was that the USAF Lieutenant who crashed at Stinson a couple years ago?

No... I was wrapping up a booth at New Braunfels just after the 2003 airshow had ended and three college students took off, skimmed the runway, climbed steeply, and stall/spun the aircraft. Two fatalities and one that was very beat up. I can NEVER forget that day. I was third to the crash site just a few seconds behind an ultralight that raced over. It was scary too, with all kinds of gas all over the place. You know that you have to try and help - but there are VERY real risks involved in any rescue operation as well. Your stomach feels a million miles away, and you feel kind of sick, weak, and somewhat helpless when you realize that there nothing you can do about what you've just seen.

Ryan