Reno Air Race Photographer Tim O'Brien re: Crash of Galloping Ghost Jimmy Leeward

Tim O'Brien is an aviation artist, long time photographer and sometimes pit crew at The Reno Championship Races. He also puts on an airshow in Northern California that attracts many of the pilots that race at Reno. What was planned as a thrilling week of race photography the weekend of Sept. 16, 2011, turned tragic and Tim's photos became a critical part of the NTSB investigation into what actually happened.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• reno air races
• jimmy leeward
• galloping ghost
• crash

[wb6cbj]

Doing the math on coefficient of lift vs. speed vs. angle of incidence will give you some scary numbers. That pilot blacked out instantly. Even if he did not black out, he wouldn't have been able to lift his arm to make any adjustments, he would have been completely immobilized. I've pulled 6 or 7 Gs (deliberately of course) and know how paralyzing it is. At the forces I'm guessing he experienced, he didn't have a chance. That plane continued in a high-G, full-power, maneuver until impact.

[wb6cbj]

AntiRedNeck's comments would be correct for a small personal aircraft, but not at the speeds that the P-51 was flying. This is the exact reason that nearly all jet aircraft have "flying tails" where the entire horizontal tailplane moves rather than relying on a tab used in piston aircraft. (and some of the slower straight-wing jets.

[andgate2000]

If the tail wheel popped out because of the g's..(if)....then he definitely black out.

[cooperjohn86]

Pictures of trim tab and a "grumble" noise heard from the plane just prior to the crash yields one possible cause:

Elevator developed Flutter, trim tab separated and control linkage to elevator broke. Immediate pitched up, pilot rolled right to correct. Elevator didn't respond, pitch up continued. Classic Figure 9. Best pilot in the world, same exact outcome. Search here on YouTube for "Aircraft resonance" or "Flutter" to see it in action.

[SL8R71]

@wb6cbj your 100% right

[wb6cbj]

Hi ChezeRepublican.. It would be nice to think he could have had a chance to throttle back, but believe me, he had no time to respond. He was slammed down in that seat just as hard as if he'd fallen 2 stories in an elevator and hit the bottom. He was out of the picture and along for the ride at that instant.

[chzecrepublican2008]

why didn't he throttle down when he knew something happened?he may still have died but saved the ones who where there when it happened.I don't mean to sound rude or disrespectful but there are so many what ifs that could have played out and the end result could have ment the spectators walking away uninjured. I send my respects to all who where killed and injured R.I.P Jimmy

[fdeflam]

@wb6cbj I totally agree with your assessment. I do not believe Jimmy was in control of the Ghost after that "sudden loss" moment. He was probably only an unconscious passenger, considering that high-G break. My romantic notions would love to think that he regained consciousness and pulled up and away from the crowd, but the evidence does not suggest that he was "there" to do it. We will miss you Jimmy, very much. My most sincere condolences to all affected by this tragic accident

[wb6cbj]

In a "fixed tail-plane" aircraft like this one the native (un-trimmed) position of the horizontal stabilizer would be set to have the aircraft in stable level flight at a much much lower speed (maybe 150mph + or - some) than the 400+ at which they were racing. This means that the trim tab would be at a substantial nose-down setting. Sudden loss of the trim tab would result in a violent pitch-up and G-forces far in excess of human tolerance.