Witnesses of the plane crash at a Reno air show Friday that killed nine hailed the pilot of the doomed P-51 Mustang for saving the lives of hundreds by steering away from the grandstand.
In this Friday, Sept. 16, 2011 photo, a P-51 Mustang airplane approaches the ground right before crashing during an air show in Reno, Nev. The vintage World War II-era fighter plane piloted by Jimmy Leeward plunged into the grandstands during the popular annual air show. (AP-Yonhap News)
Jimmy Leeward, 74, an air racer and movie stunt pilot, died in the crash after apparently losing control of the vintage fighter plane, which spiraled into a box seat area at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada. Leeward and at least eight others were killed and dozens were injured.
“I closed my eyes and said, ‘I am going to die now.’ I was literally preparing to die and then he jerked the plane away and it landed like 25 feet from us. I want his family to know he was a hero,” Kim Fonda told the Daily Mail, recalling seeing the plane streak toward where she was seated at the grandstand.
“I think that pilot in the last seconds pulled up because he saw the bleachers and saved about 200 or 300 others,” Ben Cissell was quoted as saying by CNN. The plane crashed about 100 feet from where he was seated.
Friends and family members of Leeward said he was a skilled airman and member of a tight-knit flying community.
Family members were at the air show and saw the crash, said Reno Air Races President and CEO Mike Hought
“They obviously are devastated,” he said. “I talked to Jimmy’s son and his wife wanted me to know that Jimmy would not want us to cancel the races but sometimes you have to do things that are not very popular.”
Leeward’s pilot’s medical records were up-to-date, and he was “a very qualified, very experienced pilot,” Houghton said. He’d been racing at the show in Reno since 1975.
“Everybody knows him. It’s a tight-knit family,” Houghton said. “He’s been here for a long, long time.”
Leeward gave an interview at the air show Thursday with Live Airshow TV, standing in front of his plane, The Galloping Ghost, and saying he didn’t want to show his hand on how fast the plane could go.
”We’ve been playing poker since last Monday. And ... it’s ready, we’re ready to show a couple more cards, so we’ll see on Friday what happens, and on Saturday we’ll probably go ahead and play our third ace, and on Sunday we’ll do our fourth ace,” Leeward said in the interview.
Leeward owned the Leeward Air Ranch Racing Team and was a well-known racing pilot. His website says he had flown more than 120 races and served as a stunt pilot for numerous movies, including “Amelia” and “Cloud Dancer.”
The vintage plane raced in the “Unlimited” category, where the planes race wingtip-to-wingtip at speeds in excess of 800 kph.
“How fast will she go? Hold on tight, you’ll find out soon enough. Reno Air Races 2011 ...” said a teaser on Leeward’s website.
A post on his Facebook page Friday afternoon said “Jimmy is starting up right now” and posted a link to live video of the airshow. As news of Leeward’s death spread, Facebook users posted comments and condolences on the post.
Steve Silver, 69, was Leeward’s next-door neighbor at a gated community in Ocala, Florida.
“He’s been my friend for many years,” Silver said. “He was more than a competent pilot. He was really quite a guy.”
Given Leeward’s experience with flying, Silver said he doubts pilot error was the cause of the crash.
“It would be my bet there was some kind of mechanical malfunction,” Silver said.
Maureen Higgins, of Alabama, said Leeward was the best pilot she knew. She was at the air show and said she could see his profile while the plane was going down. He was married and his wife often traveled with him.
“He’s a wonderful pilot, not a risk taker,” she said. “He was in the third lap and all of a sudden he lost control.” (From news reports)
<한글기사>
조종사, 최후순간에 수직상승으로 수백 목숨 살려
목격자들 "최후까지 조종간 놓지 않았다"며 영웅으로 기려
지난 16일 미국 네바다주의 리노 에어쇼 사고 당시 조종사 지미 리워드(74)가 마지막 순간까지 조종간을 놓지 않고 비행기를 수직 상승시켜 수백 명의 인명 피해를 막은 것으로 알려졌다.
지난 16일 '내셔널 챔피언십 에어 레이스'에서 리워드가 몰던 P-51 머스탱이 관람석으로 추락하면서 리워드를 포함해 지금까지 모두 9명이 사망하고 수십 명이 부상 했다.
그러나 CNN과 데일리메일 등은 목격자들의 증언을 인용, 리워드가 추락 직전에 비행기를 수직 상승시키지 않았다면, 비행기가 주관람석으로 떨어져 더 많은 인명피해가 발생했을 것이라고 보도했다.
사고 현장에 있던 벤 시셀은 미 CNN방송과 인터뷰에서 "리워드가 추락하기 몇 초 전 (주) 관람석을 발견하고 비행기를 수직 상승시킨 것 같아 보였다"면서 "상황 이 더 나쁠 수도 있었다. 그가 200~300명의 목숨을 구했다"고 말했다.
또 다른 목격자 존 웨한은 리워드의 페이스북에 "지미, 당신이 나의 생명을 구 했다. 우리로부터 50피트(15ｍ)가량 벗어나려고 (비행기를) 수직 상승시켰다"는 글 을 올렸다.
리노 출신의 목격자 팀 린빌은 리워드의 비행기가 부분적으로 통제력을 상실한 것처럼 보여 곁에 있던 두 딸에게 뛰어야 한다고 말한 순간 "비행기가 수직으로 상 승했다가 급강하하면서 관중석으로 추락했다"고 당시 상황을 전했다.
그는 리워드가 마지막 순간에 비행기를 끌어올리지 않았다면 "수천명이 다쳤을 것"이라며 "그가 할 수 있는 다른 것은 없었다"고 증언했다.
플로리다주 오캘러 출신의 리워드는 지금까지 120차례의 레이스 경험을 지닌 베 테랑 조종사였다. 영화 '아멜리에: 하늘을 사랑한 여인(Amelia)'과 '클라우드 댄서( Cloud Dancer)' 등 수 많은 영화에 스턴트 조종사로 출연하기도 했다.
P-51 머스탱을 특히 좋아한 것으로 알려졌는데, 이 비행기 기종은 제2차 세계대 전 때 투입됐던 첫 미군 전투기로 현재는 민간용으로도 많이 쓰이고 있다.
한편, 추락 당시 이미 꼬리 일부분이 없어졌음을 보여주는 사진이 공개되자 일각에서는 비행 고도 안정을 위해 보조 날개, 승강키, 방향키 등의 뒤끝에 붙인 작은 날개를 일컫는 '트림 탭(trim tab)' 부분의 이상으로 사고가 발생했다는 주장이 나 오고 있다.
