Reno Air Race Tragedy

[SteveSRT8]

Not too many 70 + year olds are going to hold up well under 10g's!

That's going to put many folks out no matter how old they are.

Despite the fantastic level of experience the high g load and the inability to withstand it or maintain/recover consciousness quickly enough could definitely be a factor.

 

[Rick65]

The cutoff for Unlimited Class air racing should be when you're not physically fit. This pilot at 74 was not grandpa sitting on the couch.

The trim tab loss is a real big deal, as it can cause extreme stabilizer flutter to the point the pilot can't hold onto the stick, and loses aircraft control. I agree with the GLOC theory, but I'm not sure we will ever know for sure what caused this aircraft to go into that deadly configuration. Perhaps the chop-job on the wings that was not fully proven to be reliable. Spectators know when they buy a ticket that there is risk, but it should be for viewing proven reliable equipment, otherwise it's a condition that is unfair to the spectators.

 

[Rick65]

Correction: Elevator flutter.

 

[Cujet]

The inside scoop is 11 G's. Engine was making 110 inches manifold pressure at impact, there was a short period of time where there was a slight loss of fuel pressure, during the 11 G situation.

 

[Astro14]

11 Gs?!?!

Even with a G suit...very, very few pilots, of any age, are able to take that....if he was really pulling 11G for any length of time, then he was exceeding his physiological capability.

As a point of comparison: the Blue Angels fly the Hornet without G-suits. Hornet max G load is 7.5G. A traditional G-suit can add 2-3 G of tolerance...The Blue Angel pilots are workout fiends...weight lifting and cardio every day to be able to take the punishment of 7.5 G unassisted...

So, 11 G, for any length of time is simply inconceivable...

 

[SteveSRT8]

Poor pilot deserved better than he got. The real tragedy is the innocent people hurt.

There's going to be some big changes as a result of this.