oof! Mustang comes a cropper @ Reno Air Race

[richdlc]

ouch - I don't know what's worse, the crash or seeing a Mustang written off...pilot was OK though:

 

21/09/2010

The pilot in this horror crash yesterday had a miraculous escape after emerging from his smashed plane unharmed

US air racer George Giboney had been flying in high winds in his kit-built Thunder Mustang plane - Rapid Travel - at the Reno Air Races, in Nevada

[Metallicus]

Wow he is a very lucky fellow!! Pity about the Mustang though..

[perry]

What an incredibly lucky guy, he must have had his angel with him. Pity about the 'Stang but, glad the pilot is unharmed!

[R Palimaka]

So thankful that the pilot escaped unhurt, what a miraculous close-call!

 

Terrible the aircraft was lost. Not to sound callous, but at least it was a kit-built replica Mustang, not a historic Mustang airframe.

 

 

Cheers,

Richard

[Wurzacher]

Friends of mine are in Reno watching the races, so i am happy that nobody was harmed!

Any clue who took these breathtaking pictures?

 

Thomas

[richdlc]

this story was just in my local tabloid paper believe it or not - I found another pic but it was copyrighted & I couldn't put it on here. Here's some more info:

 

A single-engine, kit-built plane crashed during an emergency landing attempt at the 2010 National Championship Air Races and Air Show yesterday (September 19, 2010). The accident occurred during the final laps of the Super Sport Class Gold Race. The Reno Air Races, as the event is more commonly called, are held at Reno-Stead Airport (RTS) near Reno, Nevada. George A. Giboney Jr., the pilot and sole occupant of his own Papa 51 Thunder Mustang (registration N151G), escaped the accident with minor injuries.

 

Thunder Mustang Rapid Travel was in second place during the Super Sport Class when the pilot reported he heard the engine misfire just before it quit running. The pilot maneuvered for an emergency landing near the intersection of runway 26 and 14. The pilot managed to land the plane, but appeared to have some difficulty keeping it under control before a bump (possibly as it hit a runway’s edge) forced the plane back up into the air. The pilot subsequently lost control and the plane cart-wheeled before coming to a stop in various pieces. The pilot later emerged from the aircraft and indicated to the crowd that he was OK. Strong, gusting winds were present at the time and contributed to the cancelling of the two remaining Gold Races: T-6 and Unlimited. The winners of those classes were determined by qualifying order.

 

According to Velozia Air reader B.J. Mason, who witnessed the accident first hand and described the sequence through an e-mail, the Thunder Mustang had trouble, “left the circuit, and tried to land on the west facing runway, [26]”. “[The pilot] was apparently unable to line up on the runway, and wound up dead-sticking it (my observation) at a 45 degree angle across the runway, left the left side of the runway, heading for the jet parking area, bounced once, and cart-wheeled. The Thunder Mustang broke into 3 pieces, [but] the pilot was OK. A resounding and I DO mean resounding cheer went up when he waved”.

 

The Thunder Mustang is a high-performance, V-12 powered replica of the famous North America P-51D Mustang. During the Reno Air Races, the higher performance homebuilt aircraft race in the Super Sport Class. Rapid Travel (#75) was a beautiful Mustang replica and it was very unfortunate to see it damaged as it was.