Just took the time to watch this and it brought back alot of bittersweet memories. My family and I were sitting just a few rows behind the point of impact that day, and in retrospect, it was definately one of the hardest things I've ever had to witness. I'd never met Jimmy, but I'll forever be a fan of his legacy and the roll he played in shaping the sport of air racing. We used to travel to Reno for the air races every couple years, prior to the crash, but haven't been back since. This year is different. Being the last year it will ever be held in Reno, I couldn't let it pass without a proper goodbye, so off we go. Thanks to all the great pilots (looking at you Jimmy) and teams for a great run. It's been my honor to cheer you on for all these years.

I was the lead announcer for the races at Reno... have been since 2002. Steve Stavrakakis, also a fine airshow pilot, is my co-announcer and color guy for the unlimiteds. The sad event is etched into my mind for keeps. As was the incredible rescue effort which followed. A real tough afternoon.

As an old and somewhat bold pilot told me back in the day -- flying is not inherently dangerous, but it is absolutely unforgiving.

total irresponsibility on Jimmy and the crew!! You NEVER take shortcuts on aviation equipment of any part...document, document and document!! every thing...RIP Jimmy...

This is the absolute best air racing tape that I have ever seen, and I have looked at a few. The engine starts, the sounds of the engines running @ takeoff power: you captured it all, not to mention the exact instant at which the late Jimmy Leeward's Galloping Ghost departed controlled flight, never to return. You have a gift, Voodoo 1650, God bless you. I am sure that you have helped the NTSB immensely with their investigation. Clutch

11 years ago... I was sitting in those stands. I'll Never forget the sound

Great respectfull video. Thank you! Unfortunately I was there and lost some family Friends as well. Forever etched in my mind. Fortunately Reno lives on.

Thanks so much for producing this and sharing it. I met Jimmy at a hangar party a few years back. One of the very best guys!

Great Video, thanks for sharing. This has to be one of the best short videos showing the Reno air race. Great start up and view of all the competitors. Too bad it has to be connected to such a great tragedy. You can tell the videographer has a great love of WWII planes like most of us. Great job!

Absolutely gorgeous. Me and my dad went down to the valley of speed at Reno in 2010, and watched Ghost in action. She was such a beautiful plane.

You can actually see the trim tab separating during the climb. Legendary machines flown by legendary pilots.

Awesome video Jason. Thanks for letting me use your footage for our tribute video Im working on. Can't wait to meet you sometime.

nice thanks for the comment and thanks for the support

Voodoo, my compliments on an excellent video. And my appreciation for you sharing it. You did a fine job of camerawork, editing, and presentation with feeling. The Ghost was so beautiful, sleek, and sexy, even in its plain paint. I loved the concept and the approach Jimmy came up with to go fast. The challenge he threw down to his friends at Strega would have been an adventure to watch. It is all very sad, and somehow inspiring at the same time. I'll be back next year.

Is the canopy on Strega and Voodoo and the way it moves backward and forward identical, or do they just look similar in design from a distance?

I was here when this happened. I was sitting right where the plane went in and all of my neighboring spectators were killed. For some reason got out of my seat 3:45 before the crash and filmed the race, and jimmies rapid climb/fall into seats. Very emotional day and I became close with the FAA folks there afterward. Hope you can keep what's important in focus in this forum.

I’ve been to a lot of air shows and air races over the years and have personally been close to many a mishap and had met many of the pilots, performers, and ground crew. This tribute was a fitting testament to the golden days of the Reno Air Races. I don’t know what comes next for the races as a whole, but blessings and prayers to a truly sterling group of aviation enthusiasts! ❤❤❤

Love that last line in your comment

Shame on all of you here singing this old man’s praises. Regardless of what kind of gentleman he may have been in life, he was selfish, negligent, and borderline criminal in the manner he modified his plane and concealed the modifications to avoid accountability. He was no hero. He was pulling 17+ G’s and was out like a light before that plane became a missile that stole 10 lives that day. He took advantage of the trust of the racing governing body, his peers, and tragically the fans that he killed attempting to gain an advantage in this race. He cheated the race but didn’t cheat the grave consequences for his irresponsible actions. It’s a shame 10 innocent people had to go with him. He was unconscious before that plane hit the crowd closest to the runway. He was no hero and he didn’t save any lives by making any alleged adjustments to avoid the stands and killing even more people. He was out like a light when he hit that crowd.

When fitted with the Merlin engine, the P 51 developed a problem with overload of the tail at speeds in excess of 500 mph. Although it was known that the fuselage needed to be extended to cure this problem, the P 51D did not get this modification due to wartime demands. This problem was not addressed until the H model. This inherent problem did not cause a problem in level flight with the stock aircraft. I've got to believe that this had something to do with this accident.

His age had nothing to do with the incident as well as the overall age of the aircraft. As far as not telling the FAA about modifications the only modification he notified them off was the boil off cooling system to which the FAA recommended 3 hours of flight testing to which were never completed. As far as the trim tab, they were using were self locking fiber nuts which are to only to be only used one time. Upon examination the NTSB found yellow paint underneath the top layer of paint on the lock nut. The aircraft at one point had been painted yellow but that was around 20+ years prior. In fact, the crew of galloping ghost even told the NTSB that they had to tighten the lock nuts on the ghost prior to going to Reno, evidence that this was a problem before they even got there. Yes, when you go to a race whether air racing or auto, you assume a risk. But is it out of line to assume that the competitors and the governing body of those machines have done everything they can to ensure that proper maintenance has been achieved? To me it's not out of line. This absolutely could have been avoided had the right technical oversight and practices been put into place before Race 177 even was permitted to take off that Sunday. Personally in my opinion this is negligence to the tenth degree. Never mind that the fuselage was wrinkling and their was a sizable gap between the windscreen a canopy as Leeward pushed the aircraft faster than it had ever went. If you take off in a Cessna 172 with full fuel and a full passenger load of 3 other dudes who weigh 220 pounds a piece and you snap the wings off would you still just say, "well aviation is dangerous!" Everyone here playing armchair A&P or NTSB investigators need to stfu. Read or watch the NTSB report. The people that investigated this incident have more degrees and more knowledge in engineering than 99.9 percent of you. Shit, even Avweb's Paul Bertorelli said the NTSB got it right. www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/AVwebInsider_GallopingGhost_207267-1.html Personally I can't help but get extremely pissed off when I see people stick up for that team. Jimmy Leeward was a fucking cowboy and the amount of negligence that went on is disturbing. Take the time and watch or read the official report here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e7Odm7KcvbemYKc.html www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AAB1201.aspx

I feel bad for the guy in the beginning cheering for Jimmy... RIP Jimmy

With the initial pull-up(11G) exceeding the tail wheel down lock limits of 8.5G followed by an over 25G pitch the failure of seat or aft tank attachments used for coolant would be logical. I understand that in cockpit video shows Jimmy unconscious slumped down in the corner of the cockpit. The current thinking is that the root cause CG related not the trim tab failure. Jimmy was very experienced long time race pilot & QB, everyone I talked to thought very highly of him. RIP Jimmy

Well if you actually watch the video past 50 seconds you will see that the music was only a filler before the engines started.Thanks for checking the video out anyways.

Beautifully done. Thank you.

Thank you for the wonderful tribute, and not showing the crash and aftermath. Was very close to the crash site and the scenes still bother me.

I was out there the day before ( the only day the Thunderbirds were scheduled to perform...) and had planned to return on Sunday for the finals. Condolances to Jimmy Leeward, his extended air racing Family & all of the fans. May the Reno Air Racing tradition live on. I can't wait!

These are highly modified P-51's, plus a few other makes as well.

True if the NTSB had concluded that the modifications caused the crash but they didn't The accident happened because of worn original fiber lock spline nuts on the elevator trim tab hinge attachments, leading to a flutter condition and loss of the trim tab linkages and rapid loss of control. In short, it was old fiber lock nuts and there is now a service bulletin for all P-51 aircraft to inspect the lock nuts and replace with newer nylon lock spline nuts.

by any chance do you know if the 'original' is a normal 'piston aircraft? I've seen some recently and they were turbine. This is one of my favorites. I should know more about it.

whos that song at the end of the video? thanks!

@BE36pilot I wonder if the aft tank or pilot seat attachment failed? This video shows the tail wheel extending rapidly at the moment of loss of control, and we know Jimmy's head was not visible in many photos, possibly also this video right after loss of control. Sudden change of CG when the internal structure somehow failed, suddenly dumping the pilot down out of sight?

The NTSB investigation report, released in August 2012, found that the *probable cause of the crash were reused single-use locknuts* in the left elevator trim tab system that loosened. This led to a fatigue crack in an attachment screw and allowed the trim tab to flutter. This flutter caused the trim tab link assembly to fail which led to loss of control of the aircraft. Untested and undocumented modifications to the airplane contributed to the accident. Particularly, the right trim tab had been fixed in place. Had both trim tabs been operational, the loss of the left trim tab alone may not have caused loss of control.

We lost a good friend that day. Could you tell me the name of the song that was played in the end? It was so fitting for the tribute!

this is the best video footage that i have seen before the crash. RIP Jimmy and all those who passed. certainly the trim tab was to blame after watching this peice. thanks

8:58 you can see the trim tab breaks off after the steep climb

That was a very appropriate ending. Thank You. What a tragic day that was.... God Bless

@chimandude Hi chimandude, that would be Hans Olson and the song is "Western Winds" you can find his songs and CD's on Amazon. Glad you enjoyed the video

The plane was modified with a "boil off" cooling system, with the radiator submerged in a water/alcohol mixture that's also used for the ADI system. You can see steam venting in some videos. One wing fuel tank was ADI fluid and the other wing tank was racing avgas.

I was there that day and will never forget it. Was on a motorcycle trip to all the lower 48 states and came the Catholic Church just outside the airport.

Hi MarceloSabat, That would be Hans Olson and the song is "Western Winds" you can find his songs and CD's on Amazon.

Great video. I really enjoyed it!

I noted that the wingtips of the Ghost were severely clipped, something that was performed on some models of the Spitfire during WWII to increase roll rate. Aerodynamically, could this have been a contributory factor for the Ghost going into a high speed stall? An incredible video Voodoo and so very sensitively produced. My sympathies go out to Jimmy's family, friends and to those families of the spectators who paid the ultimate admission fee to watch this amazing sport. God bless you all...

@CHUCKLOVES1969 An old friend, a former long time head of the Competition Committee said Jimmy was universally well thought of as an experienced unlimited racer and had been for the almost 30 years he had known him. The VP of the Unlimited Racing Class and head of the Safety Committee believes the cause of the crash was possibly due to The Galloping Ghost having a CG too close to the aft limit which resulted in pitch instability. They were using a tank in the aft tank position for coolant

If you look at the aircraft a LOT of the wings' surface area was removed - the flaps are virtually at the tips of the wings.. In conjunction with other modifications, I expect it created the "perfect storm". Thereby, leading to composite factors of failure. When trying to squeeze out maximum speed at the cost of control surfaces, then a bad outcome is much more likely to occur.

For those who are interested, at 8:58 exact you can see the trim tab break from the elevator. God bless his soul and God bless you all. Cheers

The Spirit of Jimmy Leeward, the lost and injured fans and the Galloping Ghost P-51 will be with us forever and so will Unlimited Air Racing at Reno. Calm wind and Blue skies forever to all who were lost .

Painful to watch, but everyone who knows or cares about Unlimited air-racing wants to know what happened. Thanks for posting this.

Hi, thanks for sharing this beautiful video!

Thanks for keepin' it real, Voodoo.

@RFKFANTS67 here is the website for that particular SeaFury sawbonesair

and the WWII P-51 did actually have a slight amount of jet thrust, some variants used a new radiator design that exploited the "Meredith Effect", in which heated air exited the radiator at a higher speed and was ducted out the back of the lower air inlet scoop.

If you didn't see it, watch the elevator trim tab depart the aircraft at minute 8:58 in the footage.

8:58 clearly depicts the elevator trim tab breaking and departing the aircraft. This could indeed be why the strong g-forces were present that prevented Mr. Leeward's head from raising into the canopy.

What's the song at the very end of this video with harmonica?

No, he passed out from G-forces when the plane lost control. The G-loading calculations, photo and video analysis of control inputs, as well as details of the control surface failure are all summarized in the NTSB reports.

THANK YOU JIMMY for your excellent performance, i didn't know U however HANS OLSEN made me CRY for You !! HAVE A NICE FLIGHT AND GOD BLESS U !!!

@clutchcrgo Thanks Clutch, very much appreciated!!! You're correct, I have been in contact with the NTSB and have given them all the footage I shot of the plane from this year.

Very tastefully and respectfully done. A nice tribute to Jimmy as well. Cheers!

@dirac33 Little things break. Apparently its down to the trim tab. It's happened before and the pilot survived. unfortunately this time the scenario didn't play out that way. It doesn't matter whether or not it was outside it's envelope. The Galloping Ghost was professionally modified, and it was built to take the stresses of air racing. The aeros weren't trashed, most of these planes share the same attributes. It comes back to what I said before. little things break. RIP Jimmy

The aircraft pitched up violently, not down. The trim tab failure was flutter from the loss of the control linkages.

I looked at the photos at the gov. reference and couldn't see a missing piece of the elevator trim tab as many had commented on. But I did see that the tail wheel suddenly extended.

he fuck with the airframe and made unapproved modifications. A real cowboy. To bad he killed people with his arrogance.

AlanMartinNala Unfortunately in this particular case he was unconscious and slumped over from the initial high G pull up all the way to impact, so the radio would not have helped.

So sad.. It's clear there's an awful lot going wrong at the same time and from the point roll right it seems Jimmy was working hard to bring things back under control. Thanks for posting. Much respect to Jimmy, all who lost their lives, AND all those that have been hurt in this terrible accident.

With the exception of engine cores and a few castings, the Mustangs can be built from new structure parts that are being made to support the demand for parts for flying P-51s. Some of the other racer types have retired back to stock military condition because they are more valuable to the collector market as a historical original than as a modified racer.

I know that, talking on The Galloping Ghost´s crash, everything happened so quick that probably there was no time for anybody to react, but if these aircraft have radios to contact with their ground crews, I wonder whether investigators ever interviewed the ground crew and noticed anything strange in their conversation with their pilot (if there was time for any conversation at all). RIP Jimmy Leeward and all spectators on the ground who are not now among us... Poor them all indeed...

@GoPro1997 It's the silver P-51, race # 177.

Actually, he was slumped forward as can be seen in the top view picture on the page I just added in the video description. You can see the back of his silver helmet down and to the right of cockpit.

Anyone notice the left side trim tab break off in the last seconds of the video?

The NTSB determined that the failure of the left elevator trim tab led to a 17G nose-up moment that incapacitated the pilot and led to the crash. However, from this video it looks to me like the aircraft was already in the uncontrolled pitch-up when the trim tab separated from the aircraft well into crash sequence.

Right on that one. Forces on these aircraft must be enormous...

At 8:56 you can see the left horiz trim tab hanging off the back of the stabilizer. At 9:00, the trim is seen falling off the back of the airplane.

I believe that was one of the "trim tabs" on the left elevator. I saw it in slow mo too, hanging by one end for a while and then finally being ripped clean off. I don't think it would have turned out different with anyone else in the cockpit.

Clicking on the link in the description to the NTSB report gives an error: "No such page."

Hi HHacker1959, that would be Hans Olson and the song is "Western Winds" you can find his songs and CD's on Amazon.

Where is the rest of the video?

Ahh! You guys are my idol. Love the start ups and the end. So powerful and tragic at the same time. I think the memory should also be to the innocent victims. god bless. F-1 p.s. watch people copying Leewards nose dive from your clip.

At 8:55 you see the trim tab falling/rupting off. The initial case for the crash. RIP

No, all of these planes are running piston powered engines. Be them the V12 merlins of the p51's, or radials in the others, there are no turbines in these planes. PURE POWER

Reading the report it is interesting how a trim tab can cause this kind of destruction. When I saw the video in real time the first thing that came to my mind was snap roll. Which was a fatal issue on the P-51 during World War II that caused catastrophic results to the horizontal stabilizer

Not only did Jimmy Leeward lie about his age in order to continue flying, he relentlessly modified an antique aircraft, failed to maintain it properly, pushed it beyond its capabilities and killed ten people when he crashed it. Hell, he even said on video before the race that all his modifications to the Ghost hadn't been tested. I can't for the life of me understand why a person would retain respect for him. In the pantheon of aeronautical fuckups, he was worse than Bud Holland, and in the end his arrogance devastated numerous lives. Rest in peace, my ass.

Jimmy's race plane was subject to a severe wake vortex event and sadly when Jimmy corrected the movement of the Galloping Ghost it was so quick and violent that he passed out the NTSB assessment of the accident mentioned that wake vortex was perhaps one of the likely causes I noticed the flags and pennants were flying straight out meaning prevailing winds were quite strong which also added to the severity of the wake vortex event My Deepest Sympathy to those killed and injured and the families and friends affected by this tragic accident.

The AMA examiner cleared him to fly and the crash was not caused by the age of the pilot. Also, there are pilots older the 74 who fly.

A series of catastrophic events turning into a tragedy.

If the trim tab was failing, it's possible for the resulting forces to be strong enough to yank the control stick out of the pilot's hands. Perhaps he was fighting it before it pitched up.

Thanx Voodoo. It was a terribly sad day for all of us who know and love these races. Never missed one in the 14 years we lived there and probably would have died that day had we still since that is where are box seats usually were. God Bless Jimmy and his family and no comments from you who know nothing about the Air Races. As with ANY other motor sport there is danger for the pilot/driver and the attandees. The back of every ticket has a disclaimer and ppl who go should be aware of dangers.

How did Leeward keep that engine cool? I know he removed the lower scoop so where was he getting the air to cool the radiators?

I noticed his rear left Flap seemed to fall apart. You can see it in 'slow mo'

re: the tail wheel - I assume that this happened as a result of 17+ g's during the pitch-up?

What a shame that the relic airplane was so recklessly looked after. And obliterated.

What planes are being used?

Hi Jason, I'm a TV producer based in the UK. I'm currently working on a new engineering science series that will feature the final flight of the Galloping Ghost as a story. The team would like to use this footage in the series. Do you have a business email I could message you on to discuss further?

The thing is, the historic aircraft have become so valuable (much like the rare collector cars at concours) that they will live on reconstructed with new-build components. Wreckage will pass on to a new owner who will rebuild it with the original serial number. A number of former Reno racers have returned to original condition because they are more valuable in stock form.

my grampa introduced me to Jimmy when I was 7, almost surreal how fast shit goes bad

Ah, yes, it´s true. However, that´s another mystery on the crash (and I´m not sure whether it was with you with whom I talked about it...) but anyway, they say that Leeward rested to the back of the cockpit when he lost consciousness, and that is why in some shots on the crash you can see no head inside the cockpit... My question is (or rather, was)- is the back frame of the canopy large enough so as to hide the pilot´s head? I thought that the headrest started where the canopy glass ended...

you can see the elevator trim tab separating at 8:58

Voodoo: I really enjoyed your video... Who was on the blow harp at the end of the video...?

My God, what a tragic ending; you don't have to be an experienced pilot to know that there must have been a malfunction in the control surfaces of that plane...it rolled, and that's not good....the result is heartbreaking!

That's not true, all the Unlimiteds have to be certified by the FAA to even fly and then they have to pass a very thorough tech inspection at the races prior to racing.