This newly released photograph has raised concerns that the recent deadly crash at the Nevada air race may have been caused by a defective cockpit seat. The pilot, Jimmy Leeward, should have been seen in the cockpit even if he had passed out in the Galloping Ghost, his vintage WWII-era P-51 mustang.
Ten people were killed and 70 wounded in the horrific crash. The new theory of aviation mechanic J.R. Walker is that the seat slipped back so that Leeward lost control of the plane.
Such accidents raise complex questions of negligence. Flying was historically treated as a strict liability activity and the organizers of the race are the most obvious targets of a lawsuit as well as the estate of the plane owner. While these planes are antiques, they have to meet some minimal standards of airworthiness. If the seat is original, a product liability claim would be difficult. Accidents caused by car antiques can raise the same complexities. On one hand, they are allowed to be driven without all of the protection of modern cars and yet their owners can be sued for accidents. Insurance companies have separate policies for covering antique vehicles and that has been litigation over the scope of such policies as in Sanner v. Zurich-American Ins. Co., 657 So. 2d 252 (1995). In a Lexis/Nexis search, I could not find any case where liability turned on the reduced visibility or capability of antique cars.
The first question will be, if it was a seat malfunction, whether the seat was original or a newer retrofit to explore a product claim. However, even if the seat were new, installation could have been the cause unless there is a foreseeable misuse claim. Usually, counsel would be less interested in the pilot or his estate than “deeper pockets” who can support damages for the scores of injured or killed persons. That would focus attention on the organizer of the event in allowing plane courses to come too close to the stands or not confirming pilot or plane worthiness. It is unclear whether any elements are present in the case.
As pointed out in the picture with the circle, there is also concern as to why the tail wheel is deployed.
Was the photo taken after the plane was inverted and dropping?
Could the tail wheel have self-deployed (fallen out) due to the high g forces from the pitch up?
Can the pilot manually deploy just tail wheel? Would he to create a counterbalancing pitch down to the elevator problem?
threadjack: ?
What I find interesting is that they found memory cards from his cameras lying on the field.
I find that interesting because memory cards have been with us for 10 years now, they weigh almost nothing, they can be almost trivially interfaced and “ganged” in redundant fashion, and I have no idea why 10 years down the line, the black boxes used in commercial aircraft (not this one) are not built to write to multiple redundant sd cards located in typically survivable locations around the aircraft. The tail, the wings, the landing gear. Air France 447, a fly-by-wire aircraft could have been solved much sooner had the tail, which was found early on, included a few ounces of an sd card writer and an sd card.
Now, I am certain the FAA and the manufacturers are solving such issues. I have heard they want to have black boxes that communicate in real time with satellites.
I can buy an sd card reader and sd card for $50 including 50′ of cable. Again, what is the process, what is taking so long for the FAA and manufacturers to come up with such an obvious fix that would have helped on many previous crashes, and is much simpler than 24×7 sat communications that still have single points of failure?
/end threadjack
To add to the speculation is the experience of a friend from 30 years ago, who was on a nice gentle climb out in the school’s 172, when his seat slipped back a few notches, he didn’t release the yoke, and I think the natural reaction of most people would be to grab the yoke to keep from slipping. But since his seat slipped and he grabbed the yoke, well his aircraft too did went into a steep climb. He recovered only when he let go of the yoke and the aircraft recovered itself (and him.)
I’m not sure how that relates to a P-51 and a stick or the training pilots have for this.
And with the elevator trim tab missing, it seems intuitively obvious there were already pitch issues.
But a seat slipping and a hand on a stick does seem one explanation for the missing pilot and the abnormally steep climb.
This was an Ultimate Class aircraft in which, if the stories I’ve read are accurate, almost any modification is possible, and in this one there were huge physical changes to the aileron and wings (chopping them down 10 feet.) Even though all these changes were signed off by inspectors and probably aeronautical engineers, it still seems to be a far more dangerous and experimental aircraft to fly than any “merely” restored P-51.
What is the process by which someone’s ultimate class modifications are examined and eventually signed off as safe to fly in a race?
I am curious what others think of the contention that perhaps it’s the Ultimate Class itself that is dangerous and should be reformed in future races.
OS,
I’m glad to see you posting again – especially with such robust and informative substance, but to echo raff, take time to be good to yourself. We’ll keep a light on for you.
Take it slow OS!
but in the case of this week’s crash, indications are that the pilot was trying to pull the plane’s trajectory away from the grandstands as much as possible.
🙁
damn
There is a very informative article in a recent EAA “Sport Aviation” magazine that discusses the Reno air races and whats involved to qualify pilots and their aircraft.
One point in particular; if an aircraft develops any problem the pilot is required to climb out of the racing line. The two reasons given; one get clear of other aircraft, two gain altitude and time so the pilolt gets clear of the airfield [and people on the ground] and can then maneuver safely to a landing or ditch the aircraft.
In this case, the pilot did just what he was supposed to do, climb out of the racing line. If a mechanical malfunction caused excess G loads that made the pilot black-out or his seat to fail the result was the same. At 400+ mph there is NO margin for error. A quick check of the list of fatal air crashes at Reno over the past 40+ years is a who’s who of champion air racing pilots.
OS – my father was a commercial pilot for 40 years. My father-in-law was a fighter pilot in ‘Nam and went on to fly commercially as well. I have done some flying myself. All of us noticed that in every single still picture of the plane, there is no pilot visible. I’d like to see pictures from earlier in the show.
The obvious cause of the accident is the very visibly missing trim tab, of that I am certain. Elevator mishaps tend to be the most fatal of all. But I am wondering, as you mentioned, if during that crazy “pull-up” (which may not have been a deliberate act on the part of the pilot) he experienced seat failure. I have not looked inside a P-51 since I was a kid, and don’t remember if there is anyplace for the seat to fall to – a lot of fighters have the pilot in a “bathtub” of thick metal for protection against enemy fire.
OS,
I trust your expertise on matters such as aviation….I have never piloted a plane….so those tricky nuances…. I leave to you…..
Now in college I was considering Pharmacology or Aviation or was that aviation through pharmacology …….. but I landed in the accounting ….
Mespo, I am not doing too well this morning, but aside from my wife, aviation is one of the loves of my life.
This helped by distracting me.
OS:
You’re a gem on this site with wonderful insights. I stand impressed and humbled by the clear and presceint thoughts that prevented me from my usual rant about lack of safety preparedness. Thanks for making me look reasonable.
Cap. Erb–it was a Cessna 337 Super Skymaster. Loved the plane, but that morning it damn near killed me. As you might imagine, I had more than a few choice words for the IA who signed off on it.
I went back and did an extensive Google image search of the photos of the plane moments before it crashed, I cannot see Jimmy’s head or helmet, however there are several explanations for that. We do not need to speculate too much until the NTSB releases their report.
I did a brief calculation and figure that when the plane nosed up suddenly at close to 400 MPH, he pulled at least 15-20 G. That means his body weight would have been between 2500 and 3400 pounds. No one, no matter how well trained or how good the G-suit, can maintain consciousness at G-forces like that. The most I have ever pulled was just a bit over 9 G and that was more or less momentary. Even so, there was a grey-out. I have to wonder if he was literally squashed in the seat. It is conceivable the seat latches may have failed at those loads, even though they are overbuilt with a wide safety margin. I notice the control surfaces seem to be neutral, so that tells me the plane was either not being controlled or they were literally frozen in place by the speed. Those old planes are not computerized with hydraulic boost like modern fly-by-wire fighters. They are controlled by cables and pulleys connecting the stick and rudder pedals to the control surfaces on the wing and tail. Literally no different than a Sopwith Camel or Fokker Triplane.
OS What kind of plane did you have that problem in?
I read some opinion that the pull up the pilot did was far beyond the normal pitch up that they do to drop out of the race when they have a problem. Looking at the missing elevator trim tab, that would seem to indicate that he had no or limited elevator control. In such a situation, it would appear that he did the roll to stop the resulting loop so that he would not crash into the crowd. He had no idea if such a loop could or would be done to clear the stands and the ground. Once inverted, it looks like he kept the roll going so as to carry him further from the crowd, but of course, the inverted portion turned the pitch up to down and the continuing roll was not enough to overcome the downward trajectory that had been established.
AIr racing like this is inherently dangerous as is competiton aerobatics which I flew for a number of years. There is a line well in front of the crowd in both venues which is called the dead line and you may NOT cross that, otherwise you will be very severely penalized. The FAA and the organizers of this event have done virtually all that they can to ensure the safety of first and foremost the spectators. The pilots know the hazards and willingly accept those risks and since they will be the first on the scene of an accident, they do their utmost to ensure their safety. That this is the first time in the US that there has been any spectator death or injury at an air race or aerobatic competition is evidence that the efforts have not been in vain. The problem is that it is impossible to plan for ALL that can go wrong. This malfunction happened at the worst possible time and place for such a malfunction and was the only one that could have produced this result. I am at a loss to see how this could have been foreseen or prevented. The pilot did an outstanding job in minimizing the casualties and trying to keep people safe.
As for his age being a factor, I have to inform folks that Heny Haig won the US aerobatic championship at the age of 60. That calls for exterme ability to withstand as much as +12gs and have very fast reflexes. At this level of flying, I can assure you that if there is any physical problem of reflexs or abilities, the pilot will be the one to take himself out. From his performance in trying to save a bad situation, I think it is clear that there was no problem with his physical ability. The one hope is that we will get more information from the FDR.
OS,
Thanks for your first hand experience and knowledge on this subject. It is mostly Greek to me, but it makes sense. Good to hear from you!
Thanks OS – that is helpful in understanding what might have happened.
A lot of things could be wrong with a picture someone took, including we have no real idea when exactly it was taken, it could have been during take-off as far as we can tell. If there was a problem the pilot could not overcome the investigation should be able to figure out what happened.
Here is a very brief video of what it looks like from inside the cockpit of a race plane at the Reno Air Races. As you can see, if there is a malfunction, there will be very little time to make adjustments. Believe it or not, even at this altitude, some pilots have been able to eject during an emergency, but in the case of this week’s crash, indications are that the pilot was trying to pull the plane’s trajectory away from the grandstands as much as possible.
The pilot is not missing. The angle of the photo caused the plexiglass canopy to have a mirror effect due to normal refraction. Walk around a car watching the windows. When the angle is oblique and the light coming from the right direction, the window will appear to be mirrored. What you are seeing in the photo is a reflection of the sky, making it appear blank.
The apparent cause of the crash was the fact the trim tab on the elevator (horizontal tail) departed the airplane seconds before it rolled inverted and went in. Unless you have flown a high performance airplane that is out of trim, you have no idea how heavy the control loads can be. I once took off from after having my twin-engine airplane’s controls worked on. The mechanic had mis-rigged both the elevator and aileron trim tabs. It was off only about three degrees for the elevator and probably less than that for the aileron. The airplane accelerated down the runway normally, but when I rotated under full power, I very nearly did a barrel roll due to the bad trim setting. Keeping the airplane flying straight and level and coming around to land took every ounce of strength I had. I am 6’3″ tall and muscular. Had I been a person with average upper body strength, I would have crashed. I estimate the loads on the control yoke to be in excess of 150 pounds–and that was just to keep it from pitching straight up and rolling inverted, just like the P-51 racer at Reno. Furthermore, my speed was less than 200 MPH. Had I been going even fifty miles an hour faster, I doubt that I could have held it.
The trim tab keeps control loads normal, and makes hands off flight possible when the plane is in proper trim. There is a photo showing the elevator trim tab departing the plane, and news reports say they have found it intact. Knowing how these things are installed, my guess is the hinges failed somehow. There is a hinge pin that is basically a piece of very strong music wire that runs inside the hinges–just like the pin on your office door hinges. If for some reason that wire works its way out, the hinge will let go. There are supposed to be safety wires, but they may have failed or somebody forgot to safety the hinge pin.
The NTSB report is a long way from being in, but what evidence has come out so far points to the trim tab failing. Our readers who are boaters are aware that some boats have trim tabs, such as can be found on high performance competition fishing boats and ski boats.
The only way the pilot would have disappeared is if he had put so much pressure on the control stick that he caused the seat lock to fail, letting him drop down out of sight. That is so highly unlikely that I think it can be dismissed out of hand. That was a fighter plane modified to be a racer. the seat latches are far more sturdy than anything found in a civilian airplane.
A lot of it will depend on the findings of the NTSB. Stay tuned.
how did they get that photo
Geeze….Where is OS…when he would be able to give us information on the aircraft….