On Monday, National Transporation Safety Board officials headed home to Washington. Investigators said they're bringing a "tremendous amount of material" back to Washington, including spectator videos and photos.
Meanwhile, preparations are under way for the annual air show at Miramar.
The air show is less than two weeks away but with the Reno crash in mind, 10News reporter Bob Lawrence looked at with why the risk is different between the two.
Historic aircraft from the Marine Aviation Museum -- like the Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom -- will be part of the static display at the Miramar Air Show which, under FAA regulations, is a far cry from an air race.
MCAS Miramar executive officer Lt. Col. Daniel Goodwin said, "All the energy, the direction of the aircraft is down the line of the runway, or away from the spectators."
The crash in Reno came during a high-speed turn.
For example, in an air-show race aircraft make high-speed turns toward spectors as they circle the course.
Goodwin said, "Though aircraft do fly over spectators at the Miramar Air Show, it's not the same as the Reno air races."
For instance, the Blue Angels fly over the grandstands but they move away from spectators and by strict regulation.
"They are always going to fly wings-level, which in an aircraft is the most stable mode of flight and very, very low-risk to the spectators," Goodwin said.
There are a number of stunt pilots who perform aerobatics at Miramar. In 2004, Sean Derosier was killed when coming out of a maneuver but it was over the runway not the grandstands.
The Miramar Air Show is a week from this Friday and according to the International Counsel of Air Shows, there hasn't been a spectator fatality at an air show since 1952.
No comments:
Post a Comment