The death toll in the Reno air show crash reached nine Saturday as investigators combed the wreckage for clues and eyewitnesses recalled how the doomed pilot made an apparent last-ditch swerve to save dozens of spectators.
Jimmy Leeward, a 74-year-old veteran Hollywood stunt pilot and occasional actor, died instantly when his vintage plane slammed into the foot of a packed grandstand Friday, killing eight spectators and injuring more than 50.
Police revealed Saturday that seven of those, including Leeward, died on the section of tarmac where his World War II-era P-51 Mustang fighter jet hit the ground, while two died in the hospital. Of those hurt, 17 are still being treated for their injuries in local hospitals, police said.
Leeward was not believed to be suffering from any medical conditions and a probe was underway Saturday to determine what caused the aircraft, named the "Galloping Ghost," to suddenly fall from the sky. One possible clue emerged after photographs of the aircraft in mid-flight appeared to show a section of its tail missing.
Shaken eyewitnesses told KOLO-TV Saturday that the plane initially appeared to be heading directly toward a densely-crowded area of the grandstand.
It veered away slightly just before impact, eventually slamming into a VIP area at the foot of the structure, potentially saving scores of onlookers sitting just a few feet away in the bleachers.
Witnesses and friends of the dead pilot suggested Leeward, from Ocala, Fla., had some control of the plane and purposefully avoided spectators in a final, heroic act.
"It appears from his final actions he may have saved the lives of many others by trying to steer the plane away from the spectators," Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), a neighbor and friend of Leeward, said in a statement.
"Jimmy, you saved my life. You pulled up just enough to miss us by 50 ft," onlooker Jon Wehan reportedly wrote on Leeward's Facebook page.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation into the afternoon accident, which occurred during a qualifying heat at the Reno National Championship Air Races at Reno-Stead airport.
The NTSB said it could not confirm that Leeward had veered the plane from the stands at the last moment. "It's still too soon," the NTSB's Mark Rosekind said Saturday, adding that the results of a full investigation may not be known for six to nine months.
Photos taken just before the crash showed the doomed plane was possibly missing its elevator trim — a part on the rear that helps stabilize the aircraft in flight. Rosekind said the NTSB had recovered a damaged elevator trim but would not speculate if it was part of Leeward's P-51.
"Even though we recovered the component, we don't know if it's related to the aircraft," Rosekind said.
Mike Houghton, executive director of the air race, described Leeward as an "experienced, talented and qualified pilot" who had competed in the races since 1975.
In a statement issued shortly after the accident, Leeward's family said it was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy. "Please join us in praying at this time for all the families affected," the statement read.
Twenty pilots have died in accidents since the event began in 1964 but Friday's incident was the first to involve fatalities to spectators, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
Leeward was the oldest pilot at the Air Races and his plane was the oldest aircraft in the show.
The single-seat P-51 Mustang retired as a military plane in the 1950s and has since become popular at air shows. The P-51 is credited with shooting down more planes than any other US aircraft during World War II.
On Saturday, another crash occurred at an air show in West Virginia when a T-28 aircraft went down around 2:30 p.m. local time at the 2011 Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show. The pilot of the T-28 was the only fatality.
