LOS ANGELES — Dozens of people were injured and possibly some killed Friday when a vintage aircraft crashed into the ground at an air show in the US state of Nevada, a spokesman and video images showed.
Initial reports suggested 60 people were injured, 30 of them seriously, after the crash at the Reno National Championship Air Races, in which the small plane smashed almost headlong into the ground.
“We’re being told that there are likely fatalities,” race spokesman Mike Draper told CNN, adding that there were “mass casualties” in the crash, amateur video of which was posted on YouTube and shown on the news network.
The plane crashed near the grandstand at the air show in Reno, but it was unclear if it smashed directly into people.
“It’s just like a massacre. It’s like a bomb went off,” said eyewitness Gerald Lent, quoted by the Reno Gazette-Journal. “There are people lying all over the runway.”
“One guy was cut in half. There’s blood everywhere… There’s arms and legs. One guy just said ‘hey, there’s another foot over here,” he
added.
The aircraft was a World War II P-51 Mustang fighter jet, called the “Galloping Ghost.” It was piloted by a Florida real estate developer, the newspaper reported.
Draper said the plane was a lap or two into the race when its pilots called in a mayday.
“We don’t know why it crashed. The pilot did call in. He did pull out of the lap, which is what they do. They usually pull up, directly up to clear the race track,” he added.