The Galloping Ghost Tragedy... Life, Risk, And The Future
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 09:48AM 
Jimmy Leeward with the Galloping Ghost racing P-51
(9 pix and extensive reading)
I have a lot of thoughts about what happened on Friday September 16, 2011 when Jimmy Leeward lost control of the Galloping Ghost P-51 at the Reno Air Races… crashing into the box seats just in front of the grandstands and causing possibly a dozen people to lose their life (currently 10 have perished, including Jimmy) and many, many more to be injured, some severely.
Because of the wildly inaccurate reports that are being put out by the mainstream media about the accident, I feel it’s important to address many of the important and essential elements of this tragedy to help people know the truth. I’m not an expert at anything, but I have a lot of aviation experience and knowledge, I witnessed the accident, and far more important, I have a passion for the truth. The media’s passion is for power and profit, truth does not appear to be their first priority.
To be clear, my primary concern at this time is for those who have been directly affected by this tragic event. First, for those who are injured and still requiring medical care. Some of them may still be critical, and their need for medical care and prayer is great. Secondly, my concern is for the family members and close friends of those who have lost their life. The hurt, pain, and confusion they are experiencing now is unimaginable. I pray often for them to be able to feel the peace that comes only from the Creator… even (if not especially) in these times where peace seems unreachable. And of course, I also pray for the family and friends of those who have been injured.
We should all be very thankful for excellent emergency response capability that was in place, and for the amazing response of those charged with that task... and for so many others (both public and military) that immediately engaged in the situation to give those injured the greatest chance for survival. This accident could have quickly become pure chaos, but instead it was an amazing display of people coming forward in a time of crisis to effectively help those in need.
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
The NTSB is in control of the accident investigation, and as the video of the press briefing from Sunday shows, they are being very thorough and methodical about gathering info to help understand exactly what happened. Of great value is the fact that the airplane had several parameters that were being monitored and recorded relating to both engine and flight performance. This data was not only recorded onboard the aircraft, but it was also being sent back to the race crew in real time and recorded on the ground. It’s not clear exactly what all these parameters are, but it is clear that this data will be extremely valuable in getting a far better understanding of what happened, and in what sequence.
Due to the massive amount of still and video camera activity at the races, a vast amount of imagery has already been seen by most of us via the internet. I’m confident that there are far more helpful images that haven’t been seen by the public and these will likely be the most important asset the NTSB will have in determining what really happened. Based on the images we’ve already seen, plus some very interesting information from 1998 that chronicles a similar abrupt pitching up of P-51 racer Voodoo, we can develop a possible (and very plausible) scenario for what happened with Jimmy Leeward and the Galloping Ghost.
THE AIRCRAFT
Jimmy Leeward’s Galloping Ghost P-51 was like any other contender in the Unlimited Class of race aircraft at Reno; highly modified. For the media to make an issue of it having ‘radical’ changes is nothing short of despicable sensationalism. For them to also quote Jimmy saying recently “The systems aren't proven yet. We think they're going to be OK” is also sensationalism since it suggests it may have been unsafe when in reality he was only meaning they may accomplish what they want them to do in helping the airplane fly faster... but safety was not in question at all.
The Galloping Ghost in the pit area at Reno 2010
The airplane also had a massive amount of financial investment in it and was modified at the highest level of skill. One quick look at would tell you that. The airplane, and the workmanship, was beautiful. And while it’s true that the origins of the airplane are a World War II P-51 from the 1940’s, the reality is that very little of the original aircraft was probably still there. Again, for the media to give the impression that this was an old and possibly frail aircraft is just simply not the truth. The fact that the airframe remained completely intact (except for the elevator trim tab) thru the abrupt pitch up (and the likely 10 to 12 g force) is a testament to the amazing strength of the airplane.
In the Unlimited Class, very few aircraft design rules apply. The primary rules are that the airplanes have to be piston-engine powered and have a minimum weight of 4,500 pounds empty. The weight restriction was put into place several years back to keep from having some extremely small high speed aircraft sharing the course with the much larger World War II based warbirds (P-51’s, Beacrats, Sea Fury's etc.)
When the Cleveland National Air Races (predecessor of the Reno Air Races) resumed after WWII, these warbirds were introduced into racing. They were much faster than the aircraft available prior to the war, but even in those early days, race teams began with making substantial modifications to the airplanes to make them go faster… much faster.
In 1949 tho, A P-51 flown by famous aviator Bill Odom crashed into a house killing himself and two other people (read an account half way down this page: Thompson Trophy Race "R" Division) - and while some say the Cleveland races ended in 1949 due to the crash, it appears it may have had more to do with the Korean War and changes to the facilities at Cleveland making the race site unusable. Whatever the actual reasons, the Cleveland races ended in 1949, and it wasn’t until 1964 when this type of air racing began again… this time in Reno, Nevada.
Jimmy Leeward’s Galloping Ghost P-51 was first raced back at Cleveland by Steve Beville and Bruce Raymond in the 1940’s. They gave it the Galloping Ghost name in honor of the famous running back Red Grange who had earned the nickname for being able to evade tacklers as tho he were invisible. It wasn’t until 1983 that Leeward bought the airplane. He raced it under different names until it was set aside for several years. The airplane was modified then more recently to remove the trademark P-51 scoop under the airplane (read about the modifications here) and was almost fully prepared to race at Reno in 2009. However, the team ran out of time to adequately prepare the airplane for racing, so they set their eyes on 2010.
PILOT JIMMY LEEWARD
The airplane did indeed show up at Reno 2010. Rather than qualify in advance of the racing like most pilots do, Jimmy elected to take the long route of working his way up thru the heats, all the while tweaking the airplane and engine to be better prepared to give race favorite Strega (a P-51 owned by Bill ‘Tiger’ Destefani and flown by Steven Hinton) a real run for first place in the final Gold race. After winning both the Bronze and Silver races, Jimmy had earned a place in the Gold race against the fastest of the Unlimiteds… and he’d done it with a lot of flying against a lot of other aircraft. Interestingly, that Gold race was never run. High winds kicked up on Sunday afternoon September 19, 2010 and the race was cancelled in the interest of safety. It was a good call to cancel that race, but it did leave us all wondering if the Galloping Ghost had the speed and endurance to truly challenge Strega.
Jimmy Leeward Galloping Ghost takeoff at Reno 2010
One thing was sure, the Galloping Ghost and pilot Jimmy Leeward had proven themselves in a big way at Reno 2010. The airplane was running fast and very dependably. And I closely watched Jimmy fly many times at Reno 2010… I can say without a doubt that he was sharp as any race pilot I’ve ever seen - especially considering that the Ghost had wings that had been significantly clipped, with very small ailerons. High takeoff and landing speeds didn’t seem to give Jimmy any trouble at all. In fact, I’d never seen anyone look so comfortable with an airplane of such high performance. Jimmy was an excellent race pilot. His list of qualifications and experience is massive, and his race experience spanned decades.
The Friday race with the crash was the first time I saw him fly the Ghost at Reno for 2011. As it turned out, I had repositioned myself far from the center of activities to a largely unknown location along the long straightaway where you can get much closer to the airplanes as they pass by at 450 to 500 mph. I specifically wanted to be as close as I could to see Strega, Rare Bear, Voodoo and the Galloping Ghost... to feel them as they passed, and to get some great pictures too. Tho I only got to see Jimmy fly by three times before the accident occurred, it was again obvious that he and the Ghost were as connected as ever. He was smooth and right where he should be, and he was moving up in the field. My location was actually slightly over 2 miles from the impact site (the course is about 8.4 miles around), but I witnessed the crash from the point when the Ghost was almost at the top of the climb - watching as it rolled over and then began the rapid descent - all the way down to impact. Even with the distance, the flight path was clear and my first concern was that it appeared that the airplane had impacted right in the middle of the center of activity.
THREE LAPS OF THE RACE
This was the last race of the day and the first opportunity of Reno 2011 for the Unlimited aircraft in the fastest ‘Gold’ classification to race against each other. The aircraft took off normally and quickly grouped in preparing for the start of the race. All the aircraft descended down the ‘chute’ as the chase aircraft declared ‘you have a race’. The P-51 Strega pulled out in front followed by the P-51 Voodoo, the Bearcat Rare Bear, and in fourth was Jimmy Leeward in the Galloping Ghost. These four aircraft were the main contenders for first place in this race. This is the order that they passed by in front of me at my location on the long straightaway leading up to the final turn that then runs them by the home pylon passing by the grandstands.
The Galloping Ghost on the 2nd lap of the race that ended tragically
All four airplanes sounded strong and were flying good lines thru the course. By the second time by, the order was still the same and everything looked good and the airplanes sounded strong. By the time they passed by on the third lap, Galloping Ghost had passed Rare Bear to move into third place. I got a picture of each of the four airplanes as they passed by (this close, at these speeds, with a telephoto lens, and a slow shutter speed to show a spinning prop, many of the images wind up slightly blurred - that’s why I’m not showing my last Ghost pic) - the last one being Rare Bear when I heard someone say ‘looks like a mayday’. When a pilot has a serious problem with their aircraft (usually engine related) the first thing they do is call ‘mayday’ and then pull up to trade their significant airspeed for quite a bit of altitude to buy some time to assess the situation, or to give them the time needed to set up an approach to landing. I turned my head to the right and saw the Ghost climbing over in the direction of the center of activities.
THE CRASH SEQUENCE
Note: The following is my speculation about what may have happened. I present it not to suggest that it’s in any way definitive, but in sharing these details, a far greater understanding of the situation can be understood that will counter much of the disinformation that is being made public by the mainstream media. I trust the NTSB and their ability to arrive at an accurate conclusion, but the mainstream media is doing great damage that may have a large impact on the future of aviation and air racing. I feel compelled to fight against this with what ever little resources I have.
Somewhere near when Jimmy and the Ghost went around the last pylon and headed for the home stretch is when it seems that the crash sequence begins. This is when I believe the left elevator trim tab pushrod separated from the trim tab (possibly the pushrod broke in two, or maybe the point of attachment failed, or maybe the attaching bolt failed.) This would cause that tab to trail in effectively a neutral position which would take a significant amount of the nose-down trim away from the elevator. Given the high speed, it is reasonable to suspect that the P-51 requires quite a bit of nose-down trim to comfortably maintain level flight. With one of the two trim tabs effectively no longer providing any trim effect, you would expect the elevator to immediately create a very large ‘up’ elevator input… and a very large abrupt ’up’ elevator input at or near 500 mph would likely induce a climb with a g force in the area of 10 to 12 g’s. From the information currently available, it appears that a very abrupt pitch up is exactly what happened to Jimmy and the Ghost.
Clear view of the missing portion of the left elevator trim tab
Sequence of tab intact, section separating, then apparently section completely off
The early images we saw on the internet show the missing trim tab… that’s when we had strong reason to believe that the trim tab was likely the focus of the problem. But the sequence of three pictures that appear to be taken from the same camera and over a relatively short period of time show the tab still attached in what appears to be well into the crash sequence. Why is the tab attached if we’ve already seen the abrupt pitch up and the apparent loss of control? I believe it’s because the pushrod is what failed first, allowing the trim tab to be free to float. We can see in the second image that the tab is only partially separated from the elevator… and in fact, the section leaving the airplane is the part of the tab that is from the pushrod toward the inboard, The part of the tab that is from the pushrod toward outboard is still attached to the elevator. However, regardless of whether some or all of the tab is still attached to the elevator, it hasn’t been providing any ‘trim’ effect since the pushrod failed back at the moment of pitch up.
The left elevator trim tab separating from the Galloping Ghost
While many people have expressed great concern over Jimmy’s age of 74, it’s clear that he was in great shape with the ability to withstand relatively high g forces on a regular basis. It’s typical to see 4 to 5 g’s while racing at these speeds. Those are pretty high g’s for any person to endure thru long, wide turns, and again, since it’s obvious that Jimmy was spot-on smooth on the controls thru these turns, it’s clear that he had an excellent ability to withstand high g’s even at age 74. However, few people (regardless of age) would have the ability to withstand a 10 or 12 g load in the abrupt pitch up, especially after already having the stress of near continuous 4 or 5 g loading on their body.
The fact that back in 1998, when Bob Hannah was flying the Voodoo P-51 and experienced a failed elevator trim tab, he had the similar abrupt pull up. He passed out immediately from the g force and he was only in his early 40’s. The big difference between these two possibly similar situations is that Voodoo continued to climb for quite a while, reaching 9,000 feet before beginning to descend. This gave Hannah the time required to regain both consciousness and control of the airplane. He was able to land the airplane safely. For Jimmy, it would appear that he would have blacked out during the abrupt pitch up and most likely never regained consciousness in the short period of time before the airplane stopped climbing and began the steep descent toward the ground. The hi-res image showing the left side of the Ghost and Jimmy’s helmet is not seen at all would confirm the likelihood that he was not conscious and had no ability to affect the flight path of the aircraft.
Jimmy appears to be slumped forward as the aircraft dives toward the ground
There’s reason to believe that the NTSB has recovered this trim tab, tho they haven’t released where it was found other than to indicate it wasn’t at the impact site. They have a picture posted on twitpic.com of the piece that appears to be the trim tab. It looks as tho they brought it over to the impact location to compare the paint color against other Ghost components. It also appears to be only the section of the tab from the pushrod attach point and inboard… the same piece that seems to be leaving the elevator in one of the pictures above.
NTSB photo of the part (being held) they say was found away from the impact site
It would seem very likely that Jimmy Leeward was not conscious during the climb or descent of the airplane, yet it does seem that the airplane began to pull out a little shortly before impact. This was critical to reducing the number of people killed on the ground, for if it had impacted directly into the grandstands, we would have had a huge number of deaths. It would make sense that as the airplane began to accelerate toward the ground, the nose-up trim condition would begin to take greater effect, causing the airplane to start to pull out. If only the airplane had reached a little higher altitude giving it a little more time to pull out just far enough to miss the people on the ground entirely. How this would have changed everything. This is the point where I believe it is essential to believe that God is ultimately in control. He could have easily caused the airplane to miss the people on the ground, but for reasons that we simple humans cannot know, He didn’t.
THE RISKS OF BEING ALIVE
This is also where I believe it is so important to look at life, death, and risk from an eternal, spiritual perspective. Regardless of whether we are to die in some tragic airplane crash or quietly in our sleep, the one thing we have observed thru the course of human history is that mankind dies. Each of us should be living each and every day with the full expectation that we will one day die. Tho you might ignore it, or run away from it, it’s still the truth. Our culture has tried to take our minds of it, but that’s really only to both our short and long term detriment. When we live our life with an understanding of who we are, and who God is (and to be very open and honest, I believe that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are the One true God) then we can approach the day with a ’living’ attitude… an attitude that doesn’t so much fear the risks that we encounter on a daily basis.
Should the people who came to the races that day (me included) have been expecting to die due to a tragic accident? Of course they shouldn’t have ‘expected’ it, but they honestly should be prepared for it. We all should be prepared to die. Each and every day we should be prepared. The risk of death cannot be avoided. Sure, it can be reduced, but it cannot be eliminated. This is why I strongly resist the idea that the Reno Air Races may face a struggle to continue. The deaths that occurred last Friday weren’t due to a lack of forethought or preparation on the part of the race organizers or the race teams… it was an absolute freak accident that could in no way be prepared for. You could move the spectators two miles away from the race (where there wouldn’t be a lot to see) yet a freak accident where an aircraft loses control and winds up hitting the spectators could still occur.
Jimmy Leeward in the Galloping Ghost at Reno 2010
I do envision some changes to the way things are set up that may make a lot of sense. I’ve long felt that the spectators would actually enjoy the races far more from the inside of the course. This would keep the airplanes (and their momentum) directed away from the people on the ground at all times. It also would give everyone a view of the top of the aircraft, which makes much more sense since you can see the pilots. However, the financial investment required to provide the needed infrastructure on the other side of the runway would be massive. And, clearly, this wouldn’t add any safety in a situation like we saw with Jimmy Leeward. An airplane that’s completely out of a pilot’s control can wind up hitting people wherever they are. Ultimately, it boils down to who is willing to take the risk to participate in events like air racing. If there are pilot’s that are willing to fly, and people who are willing to watch them, then I believe the races should continue without question… even if no changes are put in place at all. I believe we have engineered an acceptable level of safety into the races, we just have to be willing to face the risk.
Lastly, the one idea I have that may provide a slightly safer race environment, while also creating more exciting racing, is to put a speed limit in place. If the Unlimited Class of airplanes had an electronically monitored speed limit of maybe 450 mph (instant disqualification if exceeded), we’d see the field pull much closer together. We’d remove the quest for the maximum amount of speed possible (which obviously is a large part of the draw for the race teams, the pilots, and the fans) but we’d put the airplanes much closer together in a fight for first place. The trade off is that the risks for an accident go way up when you have traffic. The race is far more exciting when the airplanes are closer together, but the chance for contact between the airplanes increases significantly.
In the end, it really seems to boil down to whether we are willing as people to accept the risks that come with living life to the maximum. I hope that we are… I hope the Reno Air Races continue.
Reader Comments (60)
Thanks Martt...Very well written...Best I have seen to date...
Larry
A good, comprehensive account, Martt. Much of the wire service material so far has been uninformed. The photos showing the trim tab missing and no pilot visible in the cockpit along with the tab itself being found elsewhere will prove to be pretty conclusive, I think.
Glad you took the time to write that up. I'd been considering doing the same to respond to a couple commenters on various feeds, who had it all wrong, but didn't have the time.
NTSB has added a new wrinkle to their investigation today. They are suggesting that even if Jimmy had become unconscious due to the high G-loading brought about by the rapid vertical ascent and was slumped over in his seat (at the top after the g-loading had ended), a portion of him should still have been visible in the cockpit pictures that showed nothing, because of him being strapped into the seat via his shoulder harness. They are considering the possibility that the seat back broke. This would be entirely plausible, I think. Even if he had maintained consciousness, the very high g-loads would most likely have prevented him from sitting up recovering. Additionally, the high g-loads put upon the back of the seat at 9 or 10 g's would have been quite high. If you speculate that Jimmy's upper body weight was in the range of 80 - 90 lbs. (half the weight of a man weighing 180 lbs.) the force upon that seat could easily have been approaching 1,000 lbs or half a ton. The seat may just not have been designed for that excessive force.
A scenario which would seem feasible is the trim tab began to fail and then let go completely, causing the initial rapid nose up ascent and high g-loading, which then caused the seat to give way, then Jimmy falling back while holding on to the control stick, further exacerbating the situation (more g-loading), and him being unable to regain control from that position.
Thanks Matt for this outstanding report.
Maybe the explanation for the a/c rolling after the pull up is that it entered a high-speed/high-g-load stall. Given the fact that all this occurred with full engine power and thus torque the stall or near stall was supposedly asymmetric.
Looking at the high-resolution picture of the galloping ghost descending with Jimmy being absent from the canopy is quite scary, especially when the aircraft is called like this.
Well done Martt
Very well wriiten
Thanks much for the well though out article. I agree with most of your analysis.
There is one thing that you did not mention that is really bugging me. Right before impact, the tail wheel is clearly extended, but it is difficult to tell at what point this occurred or what could have caused this. I have no knowledge on how the tail wheel is normally extended, but it could lend some credibility to a seat failure.
Thoughts?
Thank you for a well reasoned account. One further thought. The tailwheel was visible and I understand that the undercarriage lever (and tailwheel lock) is operated from a lever to the left side of the seat. If the seat collapsed then the undercarriage down lever could have been pushed and the wheels released. At 450kts the main gear may have been held up by the airflow and just the tail wheel deployed. Perhaps another indication that there was a problem with the seat which would have caused the "empty cockpit" photo.
Such a tragedy for those injured and those who perished.
Best I've read yet! Thank you for sharing, especially from a christian perspective.
Martt - Very well done. Thank you for your witness. I appreciate your quote
"Each of us should be living each and every day with the full expectation that we will one day die... When we live our life with an understanding of who we are, and who God is (and to be very open and honest, I believe that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are the One true God) then we can approach the day with a ’living’ attitude… an attitude that doesn’t so much fear the risks that we encounter on a daily basis.."
May the Lord God almighty provide comfort to those who are hurting in the wake of this tragedy. May those of us who remain realize the blessings from the lives of those who perished... that they lived an intended life in the grand plan of humanity... as orchestrated by the one and only creator God.
For it says in the Bible - James 4:14 - Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
Is this an aviation accident analysis or a Bible study?
Good write up. Could have done without the Christian recruitment additions though.
Whew...long account. Flying Magazine (mainstream media?) has published a piece by Robert Goyer that says pretty much the same thing with a fraction of the verbage and none of the contradictions and religious nonsence (www.flyingmag.com/news/reno-crash-update-telemetry-data-emerges?cmpid=enews092011). YOUR article is well meaning, but is marred by religious concepts that have no place in a piece that pretends to be "truthful". Talking about "God", and what he did or didn't do strikes me as absurd. Please consider that the existence of a god is not factual in any sense of the word. There is no empirical evidence or scientific rational what so ever as to what "God" is, and what powers "he" has, if any, or if "he" even exists. You could have saved your readers a lot of time with just one sentence- "The accident at Reno was caused by.... God." And if that sounds a little ridiculous, so are your "holy" interjections in what started out as an accident investigation report.
Thanks Martt for the great article. It was very informative and the portion about life was a great reminder to me of how to live my life. Faith and Reason are not contradictory, they are separate facets of the human condition.
The NTSB will issue a report based on the results of their investigation. If a god had a part in this, the NTSB may have to prove that there is one. But really, mixing superstition with an effort to uncover factual data is a contradiction. Reality and religion are worlds appart, a fact the indoctrinated fail to see. I guess that's why they call it blind faith.
Really? Faith and reason are compatible? Tell Galileo that. "Intelligent Design" is bunk based on faith. Evolution is factual, based on reason. History proves again and again that faith causes people to act unreasonably.
Martt, thank you for your perspective. If we believe that God is in total control, then it stands to reason He wasn't surprised by the events that unfolded that day . A sad but vivid reminder to us to be ready, for none of us know when we will depart this earth.
Great write up- especially concerning God. Not sure how any of my fellow aviators could watch a sunset over CB clouds on a fall day and pretend there isnt a God.
Jim- do a little research. Evolution is still a theory- which means it takes faith to believe it. Just a thought.
You can all direct your anti Christian sentiments toward me for emphasizing this small reference by Martt. In fact, you will notice that Martt very eloquently and parenthetically separated his comment regarding God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit from the rest of his article. Martt's article is quite impressive apart from this reference.
Personally, I appreciated Martt's comment because it is impossible for me to think of life, death, and the future without including God. My comments were intended as a thanks to Martt and as a note of encouragement toward the families of those who perished. I have a feeling they are looking for comfort from a higher being at this most troublesome time.
MattB, the one who needs to do a little research is you... look up the meaning of scientific theory and you will find that in science, that's as high as you can get. Theory in science is an explaination of scientific facts, just like like atomic theory, or gravitational theory. Gravity is real, as are atoms, but they are described by "scientific theories", based on facts. Evolution is real, and is backed by overwhelming evidence. It's sad that religion obscures the truth.
Jim,
I did not intend to make this into an argument about creation vs. evolution. But since we are there. I would like you to offer factual proof of the origin of those atoms... gravity... where do you suppose they came from if they were not created? I am just asking.... If your answer is "theory". Then it is no different/factual than belief in a creator.
To everyone frustrated with me including a small, simple reference to my own personal faith when I was addressing the reality of death, which we have observed is experienced by each and every human being (including 10 people at the Reno Air Races).... consider this:
Definition of "science": systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.
Never in the history of mankind's journey thru science have we 'observed' something coming from nothing. This simple, undeniable fact tells us, using a scientific mind, that something has created everything in this world. What this something is and where did it come from? That's the real question, and it's a question so massive and unanswerable that the human mind cannot process it. However, to say that science goes against a 'god' is in utter contradiction to the definition of science.
Any of you are 100% free to believe as you choose, as am I. I believe that the God of the Bible is responsible for the universe, and I'm willing to be burned at the stake for this belief.
Given this is my aviation website (every one of the nearly 800 posts here is from me), and I had a goal of both countering the mainstream media's disinformation about the Galloping Ghost tragedy, and to put the risk of 'life and death' into a perspective (acknowledging the reality that we cannot engineer risk out of life), I feel your contentious remarks about what I have written are out of place.
I have no problem with you disagreeing, and you are free to state that here, but please do not turn this into an opportunity to have an unfruitful argument with me or others about what we believe.
Thank you.
Martt
AirPigz
Martt, a very well articulated response to those who would take you to task for your beliefs.
I stumbled across your site looking for answers to the Reno disaster. Like what I have seen and will be adding a short cut to your site.
Mike
Martt,
I agree with Mike... Your excellent article here brought your site into my attention for the first time. I am glad to have found your site and already added an RSS feed from here to my own aviation related weblog titled "Barnstmr's Random Aeronautics" at http://barnstmr.blogspot.com. I am enthused about the credibility your feed will add to my site. Keep up the good work.
Martt:
Those criticizing your personal beliefs would do well to remember this is a personal blog and refrain from such comments in the future. I do not agree with all of your philosphy; but each of us, especially one who was there like yourself, must try to put a perspective on the events in order to move forward.
Namaste.
Martt, you have an eye for detail along with your obviously keen interest in aviation. Your analysis seems credible which I can easily assume is based on both experience and knowledge of the reality of flying and of aircraft in general. All these attributes are considered 'rational' which means they are based on close observation of reality with an appropriate background knowledge in order to avoid logical errors. But then you so unexpectedly go mystical with your "This is the point where I believe it is essential to believe that God is ultimately in control. He could have easily caused the airplane to miss the people on the ground, but for reasons that we simple humans cannot know, He didn’t." How on earth can you be so reasonable one second and then go 'ethereal' the next? No need to explain. I already know. A truly consistent and integrated human mind is a rarity. We mostly find such in fiction rather than in real life, as in John Galt. But how on earth did the City of New York come into being? As to your 'God driven event at the races that day' I suppose He just had a grudge against those bystanders and deemed that their slaughter was 'just in the books for that day.' How on earth could a decent human being actually 'worship' such an entity, assuming such actually exists? No need to answer. But in general, as a former fighter pilot myself with over 17,000 hours in the air, I do share your enthusiasm for aviation and your quest to make it safer. Thank you for that part.
Dick, I notice something glaring in your response to Martt, each time you question his beliefs you then state either "no need to explain" or "no need to answer". It would appear to this novice pilot of less than 300 hours that you already have your mind made up and you don't want to hear the answers to the question you pose. Just my humble observation.
Mike
Well done Martt, on all facets of your piece. I have spent 20 minutes writing and rewriting several responses to several of the above opinions, but decided that is is best to just keep my mouth closed...thanks again for the great article.
Invoking deities when constructing a hypothesis invalidates said and the authors credibility.
As for the individual that took the shot @ evolution,I have worked in that field for the last 15 yrs you clearly have no understanding of the nature of reality. As for things coming from nothing learn something about Quantum Mechanics before proceeding further along that line.Things do indeed come from nothing all the time. So the universe cannot come from nothing but deities can? The difference of course is that the universe exists we have no data to for deities. I prefer to live in the 21st century not the first. WE all live in a technological society built on the products of science all based on theories.Deny theories? Then and give up everything you own. Where would aviation be without theories? As for the beauty of sunsets-come on.
Spot on Matt!
Well written article.
All non believers will HAVE to bow at the foot of GOD someday......PERIOD.
One more thing now that I'm agitated I was 300 ft from the accident, I now know true horror and terror. 1/10 of a second either way and 200+ people would have been killed including myself. That's why we need a sober and thoughtful assessment of events not religious babble. In my sober assessment the races are not safe for spectators and can never be made safe.I'm not saying they should be banned I'll leave that up to the FAA which will not be invoking deities in its judgement. Defiantly not a place for children,do you know that 2 hrs earlier they were thousands of children @ Stead field? It was a free day. Can you imagine what might have been? And don't tell me it was the hand of god that prevented things from being even worse. Do you want me to tell you what I actually saw. No you don't.
Isn't America great? Where else can a man offer some vector during the mystery phase of a tragedy in attempt to help the grieving aviation family make some sense out of all this, get our minds to fathom it so that it moves us further from shock to acceptance and finally resolution...tempers his reasoning with his personal faith, and gets attacked for his transparent sincerety. Well, God (or for the sake of diversity, I'll say "Nature") gives everybody an A hole and an opinion I guess. Here's mine (er, opinion I mean):
Take heart Mr. Clupper. Some of us appreciate your helping our community work through this painful experience. It's a powerful assist to the grieving process. As to the theological diatribe and unwarranted attack upon you blogged above, well some folks will fly in the back of an aircraft allllllll the way across the Atlantic with a pilot up front who navigated across thousands of miles of dark water, dodged massive thunderstorms and successfully found the asphalt on the other end and the only comment for the captain is: "you spilled my drink."
Me? I been flying airplanes and serving the Church since 1986. I believe in Air. I believe in God. I ain't never seen either one of em, but brother they matter!
Chaplain, Major Buddy Walker, USAF
Martt, thanks for such a detailed and insightful summary of the accident. It's been years since my last visit to the Reno Air Races, but hearing about this was like a punch in the gut, and the hysterical (if sadly typical) media coverage didn't help.
Personally, I don't see this as being significantly different than the occasional tragic accidents that have occurred at NASCAR races, monster truck rallies, Rallycross, etc. Essentially, any event involving high-speed vehicles and spectators in some proximity has seen its share of tragedy. That this is the first event of its kind at Reno in its 47 year history speaks well of both the pilots and safety considerations already made over the years.
Also, thanks for the eternal perspective on life.
xetor,
what do the following people have in common? Gregor Mendel, Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, George Washington Carver, Wernher von Braun, Sir Isaac Newton.
1, All were great scientists
2, All were Christians
3. All were Creationist
What is as scientist but a searcher for the truth.
Carl Sagan,Einstein, Neils Bohr, Steven Hawking etc etc what do they have in common?
So Major anyone who doesn't share your delusion is an A hole? Did I read that correctly works both ways Major I assure you.
Wow. I am impressed with your writing skills and your technical understanding of the incident. I admire your courage and stand with you in your faith. For others to use this as an opportunity to discard yours and others' faith as so much jiberish, is just them being hypocrytes. I am sure they preach tolerance to others but it's okay to flip that switch on against someone or something they disagree with. Jesus taught tolerance, and most Christians follow that philosophy. There are a few free radicals out there no doubt, we see them all the time on the news. Must be where they get their view of Christians as a group.
As for being there, I happened to be within 150-200 ft of the crash in the grandstands. I normally would have been out at the Valley of Speed on Friday afternoon. Was it pure chance? I choose to believe not. I witnessed the most terrible thing I believe I have ever personally witnessed. On the other hand I also witnessed miracles as people who were far closer than myself, walk away with hardly a scratch and those people helping those that could not, not knowing if there was danger of fire or other calamity to befall them. I also saw first respnders on the scene in seconds doing what they train for but (some) pray will never be necessary. Without a second thought for their safety. It was incredible. I choose to believe that I MAY have been spared to remind me of how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away. And to live my life without fear of, (but respect for) the unknown. Call that thought process whatever you like. In my heart and mind, I choose to consider it Devine intervention by a power greater than myself and a means to strengthen my faith..
At one point the aircraft was pointed directly at me as it went over the top and had begun it's descent. As it continued to roll, it rolled away from me and my friends. I Thank GOD for that! Others will thank blind luck. That is everyone's choice. We are created as free thinkers and free conscience beings. Believe or don't, that is your choice. It is not my place to judge, but to live my life as a good, caring, person. I don't care what others think of me. I am comfortable with who I am and what I choose to believe in. That is the way I was raised, by a father who served this country in war and peace, giving you the right to believe what you wish, and who had a profound faith in God. My mother was, (and is I believe) beside him every step of the way, may they both rest in peace.
P.S. I don't believe the good Chaplain called anyone an A hole either, by the way. Just making a common analogy. Deal with it.
No, Xetor, it didn't say "anyone who doesn't share your delusion is an A hole" as you so eloquently directed the statement to the Major. Obviously you didn't even READ his post. He said God" GIVES everyone an A-hole and an opinion." Part of the reason you are jumping all over people who have posted comments to this blog is probably because you witnessed some horrible things that you will always remember. No one will ever be able to make you "unsee" that tragedy. That being said, whether you deny the existence of God or not, those of us who do believe will pray for the victims and their families, and for Jimmie and his friends and family, and for you and others who witnessed the events of that day. Martt, this was extremely well-written. Good job, my friend.
As usual when pilots discuss (?) none can agree!
Matt, that article was top shelf - period!
One thing you mentioned that has been completely lost in the drivel from some:
The effect of the main stream news media on public opinion!
Pilot causes problems they are placed on the hot seat.
The media needs to be held responsible for the havoc they create!
One last comment:
GOD BLESS AMERICA
I doubt the seat would be able to move much at all if in fact it did break. The seat in a Mustang is only adjustable up and down. In racers with the small canopies, the seat has to be most of the way, if not all of the way down when the canopy is closed. I also noticed that they had a tank of some sort mounted to the bottom of the seat. I'd bet the tank probably sat very close, if not on the floor, so any seat movement would be extremely minimal.
Martt,
Obviously people's opinions are strong when it comes to beliefs and being a spiritual-but-not-necessarily-religious person myself, I accept your approach and can appreciate where you are going with it. Whether or not it was "necessary" to include that in your article does not matter....well, not to me anyway. What is important is that it matters to YOU. Along with certain facts and the speculation you have provided us, emotion rings strong in your article, both with your beliefs as well as with the hacks otherwise known as "mainstream media" and understandably so on both accounts. Maybe it should be called "shitstream media" because that is what the sheeple are provided more often than not.
This is the first time I have visited this website and as a person who does not know much about air races or the types of machinery and g-forces that are experienced, you have provided an eye-opening article to the uninformed such as myself and I cannot express in words the amount of thanks you deserve for taking the time to compose this both from the heart as well as the mind.
As far as the few people picking apart this article regarding the author's beliefs and opinions, I'm sorry to say but no one here or on the rest of this planet has the singular answer (if there even is one) and besides, what is it you want to prove with your comments? Is acceptance really a lost concept on you?
Thanks again for this article!
People, people, people! The fact is, this is MARTT's blog, and HE has the freedom to say ANYTHING he pleases. If you are turned-off when he envokes his religious beliefs, and feel that ruins or invalidates anything else he says, you have the right to feel that way. You also have the right to find another aviation blog.
Believe as he does or not. Your choice. That's one big reason America came to be in the first place - freedom to believe and worship (or not) as we see fit. Let's keep this the informative, educational, entertaining blog that it is. PLEASE.
I'm not a pilot, "aviation expert", member of the news media community, politician, politico/news pundit, Christian or atheist ... but my friends and I have been going to the air races every year for a long time and we love everything about them!
I really enjoyed and appreciate Martt's observations, and I only hope that reasonable discourse such as his can help to dispel the inaccurate reporting and commentary in the media which can only create counter-productive hysteria amongst those who possess even less knowledge than I do about either this tragedy, air racing in general (or for that matter religion) than I do.
I DO know that while I may not personally practice religious beliefs, I absolutely defend the rights of those who do to believe as they choose. I also know that I do NOT admire those whose comments in this section contribute nothing to the attempts to understand the events that transpired in Reno last Friday and focus only on their own viewpoints concerning people who believe something other than what they themselves believe.
Good job Martt - thank you from my heart, and keep it up!
Good point Marc. But just one more thing to, for truths sake... the scientists of old lived during the infancy of most science (ex-nazzi Braun, who died in '77, is the only person of the 20th century, all the others are of the 19th & beyond) . And to label them "creationists" is wishful thinking on Mike G's part. Mendel, a monk, was the father of genetics (something Darwin knew nothing about), a discpline that today offers some of the most compelling, corroberative and undeniable proof of EVOLUTION (which is today certified 100% by the Vatican, who's denomination is origin of Christianity, followed by 1 in 4 Americans, according to th US census). Can we all just stop being so ignorant on this subject? It's the dark side of religion that supresses the truth with an outdated doctrine.
Matt,
Good, solid, first hand info. The best eye witness report I've read so far.
I attend the Reno Air Races, but missed this year due to illness.
I have been a pilot since 1954, and as an airline pilot, a government pilot, and a recreation pilot, I've accumulated a little over 28,000 world wide flight hours.
I say that to say this,..For a person with aviation running through my blood, with a passion for aviation,..and one who still looks up at every airplane that flies over, I say 'BRAVO' for your fine blog! Great job!
I just discovered your site and love it. I will put it on 'My Favorites' list.
Keep the faith Matt. and GOD bless you.
Very well done Martt. I was at the aviation heritage line viewing the Ghost through my Canon 15 X 50 image stabilized binocs. I had a great interest in the Ghost as I know the thermo guy who designed the boil-off cooling system. He's done a lot of stuff for other racers trading a lot of drag for a bit of weight. Removing the radiator and resulting drag from it means that the sum of the vertical moments around the CG is no longer equal to zero. This is a key element. In fact, a substantial pitch up would be created. There are several ways to deal with this imbalance as well as different costs for each. One way would be to change the angle of incidence of the horizontal stab.( I don't think that was done). Another way would be to change the airfoil section of the h. stab to give a nose down component at say 400 kts. (don't think that was done either). What was done was to fix the starboard trim tab (immobilized), and convert the port trim tab to an electrically actuated tab. It was a Flettner tab ( servo). If that tab was the only aerodynamic surface responsible for dealing with the additional upward pitching moment, then, it was indeed heavily loaded at speeds approaching 500 mph. Now, to the crash sequence. I had an almost head-on view and image stabilized as well. I noted the audible passage of Strega and Voodoo and saw Ghost demonstrate what I call a"pitch transient", just a slight bump which at first I thought was a wake turbulence encounter but it was lacking any characteristic roll movement. Immediately after the "bump", the aircraft went wings level and began an abrupt pull-up into what is probably best described as a very high G right barrel roll. You know the rest. Jimmy was flying a great race on a great line. I'm speculating that when the push-rod failed, he had a good firm grip on the stick. With the loss of the push-rod, all of the loading on the trim tab was instantly transferred to the elevator and of course, the stick, but with no appreciable movement of the elevator save that of a steady hand absorbing the additional loading on the stick (perhaps the "bump" that I saw) With the additional rearward loading of the stick, a "mayday pull-up" maneuver would have great potential to over G the airplane as It would not have been necessary to "pull" the stick aft but merely allow it to ease back so as to not over G the airplane. Relaxing pressure on the stick would have , in my opinion, allowed the full effect of the pitching moment imbalance to occur. As far as God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, all will be answered about two seconds into eternity.....Amen Brother
Mef Fisher- Thank you for your additional and very interesting info on the trim tab configuration. It will be interesting to see if the NTSB does release an initial finding tomorrow (Friday 9.23.11) as scheduled and to see how much trim tab info they have to share.
I'd also like to thank you and many of the other commenters in the last 24 hours for your kind words about this post in general - I appreciate it.
I concur with the author of this article. I was in the reserved seats at the top. At one point Iwas staring at the spinner when the plane changed direction-I believe that Jimmy did this as his last effort-and impacted right in front of us. The accident was an ACCIDENT.
I will return to Reno for more airracing! I will do so because I have been going for 45 years. My sons have been going one since he was under 12 and the other since he was 2 months. To say air racing is a passion is an understatement.
I hope and pray that we will continue to have racing. I hope and pray that the Lewward family will accept our symapthy and heart felt thoughts.
Jimmy, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU TRIED TO DO! YOU DID SAVE MANY LIVES!!