Reno crash site is quiet, blocked off pending investigators’ arrival
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Officials on Saturday morning blocked off most of the airfield at the Reno-Stead Airport that just hours earlier had been the scene of the deadly crash of a World War II-era fighter plane that killed at least three people and injured more than 50.
As pilots, crew and fans gathered outside the gates, waiting to collect their equipment and belongings, the scene was being kept as pristine as possible for investigators of the National Transportation Safety Board, expected later in the day.
The airport is on a patch of land north of Reno. It’s immediately clear how much the air races mean to the area: At least two blinking signs on Highway 395 direct air-race traffic. The main drag, Stead Boulevard, is lined with “Welcome Race Fans” banners.
But on Saturday, the small airfield -- dominated by a tower that touts its elevation (5046) in large block letters -- was changing out of its most festive dress. On the tarmac, the colorful aircraft displays, vendor booths, food stands and grandstands that were supposed to cater to huge numbers of fans stood empty.
The dirt lots where fans had crowded were mostly empty. For the people who remained, their sense of shock was apparent. The men taking down food stands and packing up their RVs had the blank looks of people still processing a tragedy.
Reno Fire Capt. Dennis Jacobsen told The Times he saw the horrific crash from a tower overlooking the airfield. He was working fire command when the plane slammed into the ground during the first lap of one of the races in the sky above.
The pilot, he said, “went high like he was going to pull off the course, then winged over and straight down, all in about three or four seconds.”
Jacobsen said he was surprised there were not more injuries as the panicked crowd rushed to clear the airfield.
“We thought we’d have a lot more secondary problems,” he said.
Announcers calmly ordered spectators to exit, and they did so in an orderly fashion, he said. Many fans and participants in the races were camped out in RVs and tents just outside the gates of the Reno-Stead Airport.
They wore baseball caps, jackets and Y-shirts with images of their favorite vintage airplanes, including some emblazoned with the Galloping Ghost, the plane that crashed.
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FULL COVERAGE: Deadly crash at Reno air show
-- Tony Barboza and Ashley Powers in Reno, Nev.
Andy Barron / Reno Gazette-Journal / Associated Press
