Qualla: 2011 Reno Air Races Crash

2011 Reno Air Races Crash: Introduction

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit tataquax from Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Galloping Ghost had just rounded pylon number 8 when something went wrong. It was September 16, 2011, and pilot Jimmy Leeward was in third place, pushing his heavily modified P-51D Mustang faster than he had ever flown it before. Then the aircraft pitched up violently, rolled inverted, and dove. Spectators in the box seats never had a chance. The plane struck the apron in front of the grandstands at over 400 miles per hour, killing Leeward and ten people on the ground. Sixty-nine others were injured. It became the third-deadliest airshow disaster in American history.

Image: tataquax from Japan | CC BY-SA 2.0

2011 Reno Air Races Crash: A Ghost Returns

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit tataquax from Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Galloping Ghost was no ordinary P-51 Mustang. The former Air Force fighter, serial number 44-15651, had been racing under various names since the 1960s. As Miss Candace, it crashed during the 1970 Reno races after an engine failure, the elongated racing propeller clipping the...

Image: tataquax from Japan | CC BY-SA 2.0

2011 Reno Air Races Crash: The Missing Tab

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit tataquax from Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0. A photograph taken moments before impact captured something crucial: part of the left elevator trim tab was missing. The National Transportation Safety Board spent nearly a year piecing together what happened. They found debris scattered across two acres, examined hundreds of spe...

Image: tataquax from Japan | CC BY-SA 2.0

2011 Reno Air Races Crash: Single-Use Locknuts

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit tataquax from Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0. The NTSB's August 2012 report identified the probable cause: reused single-use locknuts in the left elevator trim tab system had loosened over time. This led to a fatigue crack in an attachment screw. When the screw failed, the trim tab began to flutter violently. The flutter cau...

Image: tataquax from Japan | CC BY-SA 2.0

2011 Reno Air Races Crash: Lessons in Metal and Bone

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit tataquax from Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0. The NTSB issued seven safety recommendations for future air races. Course design should place spectators farther from the race pylons. Pre-race inspections should be more rigorous. Modifications to race aircraft needed better documentation and testing. The FAA should provide clea...

Image: tataquax from Japan | CC BY-SA 2.0