T6 Mid Air at final day of Reno Air Races

[Bksmithca]

Two T6 aircraft collided after the gold T6 Race was over and the planes were in the cool down stage prior to landing. Sadly both pilots were killed.
https://news3lv.com/news/local/emergency-crews-responding-to-incident-at-national-championship-air-races-at-reno-stead-airport

[punkalouver]

Originally Posted by Bksmithca

Two T6 aircraft collided after the gold T6 Race was over and the planes were in the cool down stage prior to landing. Sadly both pilots were killed.
https://news3lv.com/news/local/emerg...-stead-airport

Was at the races but like most people, did not see it as the race was over. Heard it was #1 and #2 that collided, possibly coming in to land.

[treadigraph]

Pilots named by RARA as Nick Macy and Chris Rushing. Nick Macy has been campaigning Six Cat for just about as long as I remember. So sad.

[Bksmithca]

Originally Posted by punkalouver

Was at the races but like most people, did not see it as the race was over. Heard it was #1 and #2 that collided, possibly coming in to land.

I was also there in section F and saw one of the two hit the ground. Went thru my pictures but nothing

[Piper_Driver]

Was also there, but didn’t see the collision. With all the close flying and obvious hazards during the race it is unfathomable to me how this could happen to pilots of this skill level while maneuvering to land. My heart goes out to the families and friends of all those involved. What a tragic end to an iconic event.

[DogTailRed2]

That's three T6's this year (I am aware of). Not a good year for the T6 and aviation overall.

[DogTailRed2]

Hearing rumours that Reno Air Races is to be cancelled permanently due to this accident and the lack of available air space making further races too dangerous.
Can anyone confirm?

[treadigraph]

Originally Posted by munnst

Hearing rumours that Reno Air Races is to be cancelled permanently due to this accident and the lack of available air space making further races too dangerous.
Can anyone confirm?

This was already the very last Reno, announcement was made much earlier in the year. Supposedly Aaron Hoag's crash there in an L-39 last year had no bearing on the decision.

RARA have been looking for an alternate site; one possibility is a proposed "Spaceport" to be built SW of Las Vegas, though I don't think any ground has been broken in starting the build there! The owners are keen to host the races.

[DogTailRed2]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

This was already the very last Reno, announcement was made much earlier in the year. Supposedly Aaron Hoag's crash there in an L-39 last year had no bearing on the decision.

RARA have been looking for an alternate site; one possibility is a proposed "Spaceport" to be built SW of Las Vegas, though I don't think any ground has been broken in starting the build there! The owners are keen to host the races.

Shame Reno will be no more. Glad I got to visit in 98. Always planned another trip but the distance from the UK was prohibitive. I guess the hey days of CAF, Reno and American airshows (as everywhere) have passed.

[Bksmithca]

Originally Posted by munnst

Hearing rumours that Reno Air Races is to be cancelled permanently due to this accident and the lack of available air space making further races too dangerous.
Can anyone confirm?

As others have mentioned this was the last for Reno. As to why Reno organizers would need to answer that but in talking to some of the long time attendees around me, I was given three possible reasons. First was they couldn't agree to a new contract with the airport. Second was they couldn't find reasonably-priced insurance and after this years crash I think would be almost impossible now. And the last was with all the new development around the airport Reno was having safety concerns and wanted to end the races. Could be one or a combination of all of the above or something totally different

[ATC Watcher]

Very sad to hear about Reno's future and those 2 T6s. I was in OSH this year again and what was striking was the level of the daily airshows compared tp previous years : relatively basic and much more safety orientated, but meaning less spectacular too . No more mixed operations for instance , which we assumed was the result of the B17 accident in Dallas earlier in the year. Insurance might have been a factor too. . The Shockwave jet powered truck fatal accident earlier this year which was one of the highlights of previous years night airshow, is another reminder of the risks taken . . If the tendency to always do better , faster ,and more spectacular each year causes people to die, it will surely one day mean the end of airshows are we know them .

[threep]

Originally Posted by Piper_Driver

... it is unfathomable to me how this could happen to pilots of this skill level while maneuvering to land.

In mountaineering, the most dangerous part of a trip (statistically speaking) is returning from the summit. It is thought this is a combination of a change of perception of the sense of danger (the most hard/dangerous part is over) together with tiredness/fatigue.

[treadigraph]

Preliminary information indicates that both aircraft had just competed in the T-6 Class - Gold Race at the National Championship Air Races at Reno-Stead Airport, and they were on base to final to runway 08. The Six-Cat ran into the tail of Baron’s Revenge, severing the tail, causing it to go straight for the ground. The Six-Cat flew for a bit but it eventually nosed over and crashed. Both planes crashed in a residential area west of the airport. A ground observer was able to photograph the Baron Revenge before it impacted the ground, it was missing the entire tail and had sustained substantial damage to the outer section (and trailing edge) of the left wing.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/345650

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[DogTailRed2]

Sounds similar to two P51's (iirc both were racers?) that collided during landing some years ago although on that occasion one had touched down and the other ran into it. I seem to recall one lost it's tail. The other winged over. Both destroyed.

[fdr]

Originally Posted by munnst

Sounds similar to two P51's (iirc both were racers?) that collided during landing some years ago although on that occasion one had touched down and the other ran into it. I seem to recall one lost it's tail. The other winged over. Both destroyed.

The mustangs were at Oshkosh, and the P-51D that had landed got swiped by a P-51A, which took off the D's left elevator and horizontal stab, and chopped a slice half way though the fuselage just aft of the bubble/radiator scoop. The A rolled over inverted and didn't end well. The D driver was unharmed, the A driver was totalled. The A model was rebuilt, as was the D, the A was re-engined with a Griffon 56?, and contra prop from a Shackleton, the back was chopped down, D style, and the tail became an H type. Got sold thereafter to Kissimmee to Thom Richards, "Precious Metal". She got bent again a few years back, and is back being rebuilt.

PRECIOUS METAL

[treadigraph]

Thom Richards' Griffon P-51 is a different P-51 to the late Gerry Beck's new build P-51 involved in the Oshkosh crash. Both called Precious Metal.

[Jhieminga]

This is Thom Richards' P-51: https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-5...serial/87-4488
Gerry Beck's airframe was named 'Precious Metal II': https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-5...erial/43-BeckA
There is another airframe with the 'Precious Metal' name but that is a restoration project as far as I can see: https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-5...erial/44-73518

[fdr]

Originally Posted by Jhieminga

This is Thom Richards' P-51: https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-5...serial/87-4488
Gerry Beck's airframe was named 'Precious Metal II': https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-5...erial/43-BeckA
There is another airframe with the 'Precious Metal' name but that is a restoration project as far as I can see: https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-5...erial/44-73518

Thanks for the correction. Thom aircraft was interesting, I was incorrect in the provenance of the bits of it. Did some stuff on it in 2013 that was interesting.

[DogTailRed2]

Is this type of air racing using modified aircraft unique to the USA?
I doubt it would be allowed in the UK due to the sort of modifications being made to the aircraft being outside the regulations.
I have to admit when I visited Reno Air Races in 98 seeing the aircraft in the pits was far more interesting than watching them fly as they were far too far away to really appreciate.
Still an amazing venue that's left me with lots of positive memories.

[Piper_Driver]

Good video explanation of the accident

Reno T6 accident