The Galloping Ghost Tragedy... Life, Risk, And The Future
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 09:48AM 
Jimmy Leeward with the Galloping Ghost racing P-51
(9 pix and extensive reading)
I have a lot of thoughts about what happened on Friday September 16, 2011 when Jimmy Leeward lost control of the Galloping Ghost P-51 at the Reno Air Races… crashing into the box seats just in front of the grandstands and causing possibly a dozen people to lose their life (currently 10 have perished, including Jimmy) and many, many more to be injured, some severely.
Because of the wildly inaccurate reports that are being put out by the mainstream media about the accident, I feel it’s important to address many of the important and essential elements of this tragedy to help people know the truth. I’m not an expert at anything, but I have a lot of aviation experience and knowledge, I witnessed the accident, and far more important, I have a passion for the truth. The media’s passion is for power and profit, truth does not appear to be their first priority.
To be clear, my primary concern at this time is for those who have been directly affected by this tragic event. First, for those who are injured and still requiring medical care. Some of them may still be critical, and their need for medical care and prayer is great. Secondly, my concern is for the family members and close friends of those who have lost their life. The hurt, pain, and confusion they are experiencing now is unimaginable. I pray often for them to be able to feel the peace that comes only from the Creator… even (if not especially) in these times where peace seems unreachable. And of course, I also pray for the family and friends of those who have been injured.
We should all be very thankful for excellent emergency response capability that was in place, and for the amazing response of those charged with that task... and for so many others (both public and military) that immediately engaged in the situation to give those injured the greatest chance for survival. This accident could have quickly become pure chaos, but instead it was an amazing display of people coming forward in a time of crisis to effectively help those in need.
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
The NTSB is in control of the accident investigation, and as the video of the press briefing from Sunday shows, they are being very thorough and methodical about gathering info to help understand exactly what happened. Of great value is the fact that the airplane had several parameters that were being monitored and recorded relating to both engine and flight performance. This data was not only recorded onboard the aircraft, but it was also being sent back to the race crew in real time and recorded on the ground. It’s not clear exactly what all these parameters are, but it is clear that this data will be extremely valuable in getting a far better understanding of what happened, and in what sequence.
Due to the massive amount of still and video camera activity at the races, a vast amount of imagery has already been seen by most of us via the internet. I’m confident that there are far more helpful images that haven’t been seen by the public and these will likely be the most important asset the NTSB will have in determining what really happened. Based on the images we’ve already seen, plus some very interesting information from 1998 that chronicles a similar abrupt pitching up of P-51 racer Voodoo, we can develop a possible (and very plausible) scenario for what happened with Jimmy Leeward and the Galloping Ghost.
THE AIRCRAFT
Jimmy Leeward’s Galloping Ghost P-51 was like any other contender in the Unlimited Class of race aircraft at Reno; highly modified. For the media to make an issue of it having ‘radical’ changes is nothing short of despicable sensationalism. For them to also quote Jimmy saying recently “The systems aren't proven yet. We think they're going to be OK” is also sensationalism since it suggests it may have been unsafe when in reality he was only meaning they may accomplish what they want them to do in helping the airplane fly faster... but safety was not in question at all.
The Galloping Ghost in the pit area at Reno 2010
The airplane also had a massive amount of financial investment in it and was modified at the highest level of skill. One quick look at would tell you that. The airplane, and the workmanship, was beautiful. And while it’s true that the origins of the airplane are a World War II P-51 from the 1940’s, the reality is that very little of the original aircraft was probably still there. Again, for the media to give the impression that this was an old and possibly frail aircraft is just simply not the truth. The fact that the airframe remained completely intact (except for the elevator trim tab) thru the abrupt pitch up (and the likely 10 to 12 g force) is a testament to the amazing strength of the airplane.
In the Unlimited Class, very few aircraft design rules apply. The primary rules are that the airplanes have to be piston-engine powered and have a minimum weight of 4,500 pounds empty. The weight restriction was put into place several years back to keep from having some extremely small high speed aircraft sharing the course with the much larger World War II based warbirds (P-51’s, Beacrats, Sea Fury's etc.)
When the Cleveland National Air Races (predecessor of the Reno Air Races) resumed after WWII, these warbirds were introduced into racing. They were much faster than the aircraft available prior to the war, but even in those early days, race teams began with making substantial modifications to the airplanes to make them go faster… much faster.
In 1949 tho, A P-51 flown by famous aviator Bill Odom crashed into a house killing himself and two other people (read an account half way down this page: Thompson Trophy Race "R" Division) - and while some say the Cleveland races ended in 1949 due to the crash, it appears it may have had more to do with the Korean War and changes to the facilities at Cleveland making the race site unusable. Whatever the actual reasons, the Cleveland races ended in 1949, and it wasn’t until 1964 when this type of air racing began again… this time in Reno, Nevada.
Jimmy Leeward’s Galloping Ghost P-51 was first raced back at Cleveland by Steve Beville and Bruce Raymond in the 1940’s. They gave it the Galloping Ghost name in honor of the famous running back Red Grange who had earned the nickname for being able to evade tacklers as tho he were invisible. It wasn’t until 1983 that Leeward bought the airplane. He raced it under different names until it was set aside for several years. The airplane was modified then more recently to remove the trademark P-51 scoop under the airplane (read about the modifications here) and was almost fully prepared to race at Reno in 2009. However, the team ran out of time to adequately prepare the airplane for racing, so they set their eyes on 2010.
PILOT JIMMY LEEWARD
The airplane did indeed show up at Reno 2010. Rather than qualify in advance of the racing like most pilots do, Jimmy elected to take the long route of working his way up thru the heats, all the while tweaking the airplane and engine to be better prepared to give race favorite Strega (a P-51 owned by Bill ‘Tiger’ Destefani and flown by Steven Hinton) a real run for first place in the final Gold race. After winning both the Bronze and Silver races, Jimmy had earned a place in the Gold race against the fastest of the Unlimiteds… and he’d done it with a lot of flying against a lot of other aircraft. Interestingly, that Gold race was never run. High winds kicked up on Sunday afternoon September 19, 2010 and the race was cancelled in the interest of safety. It was a good call to cancel that race, but it did leave us all wondering if the Galloping Ghost had the speed and endurance to truly challenge Strega.
Jimmy Leeward Galloping Ghost takeoff at Reno 2010
One thing was sure, the Galloping Ghost and pilot Jimmy Leeward had proven themselves in a big way at Reno 2010. The airplane was running fast and very dependably. And I closely watched Jimmy fly many times at Reno 2010… I can say without a doubt that he was sharp as any race pilot I’ve ever seen - especially considering that the Ghost had wings that had been significantly clipped, with very small ailerons. High takeoff and landing speeds didn’t seem to give Jimmy any trouble at all. In fact, I’d never seen anyone look so comfortable with an airplane of such high performance. Jimmy was an excellent race pilot. His list of qualifications and experience is massive, and his race experience spanned decades.
The Friday race with the crash was the first time I saw him fly the Ghost at Reno for 2011. As it turned out, I had repositioned myself far from the center of activities to a largely unknown location along the long straightaway where you can get much closer to the airplanes as they pass by at 450 to 500 mph. I specifically wanted to be as close as I could to see Strega, Rare Bear, Voodoo and the Galloping Ghost... to feel them as they passed, and to get some great pictures too. Tho I only got to see Jimmy fly by three times before the accident occurred, it was again obvious that he and the Ghost were as connected as ever. He was smooth and right where he should be, and he was moving up in the field. My location was actually slightly over 2 miles from the impact site (the course is about 8.4 miles around), but I witnessed the crash from the point when the Ghost was almost at the top of the climb - watching as it rolled over and then began the rapid descent - all the way down to impact. Even with the distance, the flight path was clear and my first concern was that it appeared that the airplane had impacted right in the middle of the center of activity.
THREE LAPS OF THE RACE
This was the last race of the day and the first opportunity of Reno 2011 for the Unlimited aircraft in the fastest ‘Gold’ classification to race against each other. The aircraft took off normally and quickly grouped in preparing for the start of the race. All the aircraft descended down the ‘chute’ as the chase aircraft declared ‘you have a race’. The P-51 Strega pulled out in front followed by the P-51 Voodoo, the Bearcat Rare Bear, and in fourth was Jimmy Leeward in the Galloping Ghost. These four aircraft were the main contenders for first place in this race. This is the order that they passed by in front of me at my location on the long straightaway leading up to the final turn that then runs them by the home pylon passing by the grandstands.
The Galloping Ghost on the 2nd lap of the race that ended tragically
All four airplanes sounded strong and were flying good lines thru the course. By the second time by, the order was still the same and everything looked good and the airplanes sounded strong. By the time they passed by on the third lap, Galloping Ghost had passed Rare Bear to move into third place. I got a picture of each of the four airplanes as they passed by (this close, at these speeds, with a telephoto lens, and a slow shutter speed to show a spinning prop, many of the images wind up slightly blurred - that’s why I’m not showing my last Ghost pic) - the last one being Rare Bear when I heard someone say ‘looks like a mayday’. When a pilot has a serious problem with their aircraft (usually engine related) the first thing they do is call ‘mayday’ and then pull up to trade their significant airspeed for quite a bit of altitude to buy some time to assess the situation, or to give them the time needed to set up an approach to landing. I turned my head to the right and saw the Ghost climbing over in the direction of the center of activities.
THE CRASH SEQUENCE
Note: The following is my speculation about what may have happened. I present it not to suggest that it’s in any way definitive, but in sharing these details, a far greater understanding of the situation can be understood that will counter much of the disinformation that is being made public by the mainstream media. I trust the NTSB and their ability to arrive at an accurate conclusion, but the mainstream media is doing great damage that may have a large impact on the future of aviation and air racing. I feel compelled to fight against this with what ever little resources I have.
Somewhere near when Jimmy and the Ghost went around the last pylon and headed for the home stretch is when it seems that the crash sequence begins. This is when I believe the left elevator trim tab pushrod separated from the trim tab (possibly the pushrod broke in two, or maybe the point of attachment failed, or maybe the attaching bolt failed.) This would cause that tab to trail in effectively a neutral position which would take a significant amount of the nose-down trim away from the elevator. Given the high speed, it is reasonable to suspect that the P-51 requires quite a bit of nose-down trim to comfortably maintain level flight. With one of the two trim tabs effectively no longer providing any trim effect, you would expect the elevator to immediately create a very large ‘up’ elevator input… and a very large abrupt ’up’ elevator input at or near 500 mph would likely induce a climb with a g force in the area of 10 to 12 g’s. From the information currently available, it appears that a very abrupt pitch up is exactly what happened to Jimmy and the Ghost.
Clear view of the missing portion of the left elevator trim tab
Sequence of tab intact, section separating, then apparently section completely off
The early images we saw on the internet show the missing trim tab… that’s when we had strong reason to believe that the trim tab was likely the focus of the problem. But the sequence of three pictures that appear to be taken from the same camera and over a relatively short period of time show the tab still attached in what appears to be well into the crash sequence. Why is the tab attached if we’ve already seen the abrupt pitch up and the apparent loss of control? I believe it’s because the pushrod is what failed first, allowing the trim tab to be free to float. We can see in the second image that the tab is only partially separated from the elevator… and in fact, the section leaving the airplane is the part of the tab that is from the pushrod toward the inboard, The part of the tab that is from the pushrod toward outboard is still attached to the elevator. However, regardless of whether some or all of the tab is still attached to the elevator, it hasn’t been providing any ‘trim’ effect since the pushrod failed back at the moment of pitch up.
The left elevator trim tab separating from the Galloping Ghost
While many people have expressed great concern over Jimmy’s age of 74, it’s clear that he was in great shape with the ability to withstand relatively high g forces on a regular basis. It’s typical to see 4 to 5 g’s while racing at these speeds. Those are pretty high g’s for any person to endure thru long, wide turns, and again, since it’s obvious that Jimmy was spot-on smooth on the controls thru these turns, it’s clear that he had an excellent ability to withstand high g’s even at age 74. However, few people (regardless of age) would have the ability to withstand a 10 or 12 g load in the abrupt pitch up, especially after already having the stress of near continuous 4 or 5 g loading on their body.
The fact that back in 1998, when Bob Hannah was flying the Voodoo P-51 and experienced a failed elevator trim tab, he had the similar abrupt pull up. He passed out immediately from the g force and he was only in his early 40’s. The big difference between these two possibly similar situations is that Voodoo continued to climb for quite a while, reaching 9,000 feet before beginning to descend. This gave Hannah the time required to regain both consciousness and control of the airplane. He was able to land the airplane safely. For Jimmy, it would appear that he would have blacked out during the abrupt pitch up and most likely never regained consciousness in the short period of time before the airplane stopped climbing and began the steep descent toward the ground. The hi-res image showing the left side of the Ghost and Jimmy’s helmet is not seen at all would confirm the likelihood that he was not conscious and had no ability to affect the flight path of the aircraft.
Jimmy appears to be slumped forward as the aircraft dives toward the ground
There’s reason to believe that the NTSB has recovered this trim tab, tho they haven’t released where it was found other than to indicate it wasn’t at the impact site. They have a picture posted on twitpic.com of the piece that appears to be the trim tab. It looks as tho they brought it over to the impact location to compare the paint color against other Ghost components. It also appears to be only the section of the tab from the pushrod attach point and inboard… the same piece that seems to be leaving the elevator in one of the pictures above.
NTSB photo of the part (being held) they say was found away from the impact site
It would seem very likely that Jimmy Leeward was not conscious during the climb or descent of the airplane, yet it does seem that the airplane began to pull out a little shortly before impact. This was critical to reducing the number of people killed on the ground, for if it had impacted directly into the grandstands, we would have had a huge number of deaths. It would make sense that as the airplane began to accelerate toward the ground, the nose-up trim condition would begin to take greater effect, causing the airplane to start to pull out. If only the airplane had reached a little higher altitude giving it a little more time to pull out just far enough to miss the people on the ground entirely. How this would have changed everything. This is the point where I believe it is essential to believe that God is ultimately in control. He could have easily caused the airplane to miss the people on the ground, but for reasons that we simple humans cannot know, He didn’t.
THE RISKS OF BEING ALIVE
This is also where I believe it is so important to look at life, death, and risk from an eternal, spiritual perspective. Regardless of whether we are to die in some tragic airplane crash or quietly in our sleep, the one thing we have observed thru the course of human history is that mankind dies. Each of us should be living each and every day with the full expectation that we will one day die. Tho you might ignore it, or run away from it, it’s still the truth. Our culture has tried to take our minds of it, but that’s really only to both our short and long term detriment. When we live our life with an understanding of who we are, and who God is (and to be very open and honest, I believe that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are the One true God) then we can approach the day with a ’living’ attitude… an attitude that doesn’t so much fear the risks that we encounter on a daily basis.
Should the people who came to the races that day (me included) have been expecting to die due to a tragic accident? Of course they shouldn’t have ‘expected’ it, but they honestly should be prepared for it. We all should be prepared to die. Each and every day we should be prepared. The risk of death cannot be avoided. Sure, it can be reduced, but it cannot be eliminated. This is why I strongly resist the idea that the Reno Air Races may face a struggle to continue. The deaths that occurred last Friday weren’t due to a lack of forethought or preparation on the part of the race organizers or the race teams… it was an absolute freak accident that could in no way be prepared for. You could move the spectators two miles away from the race (where there wouldn’t be a lot to see) yet a freak accident where an aircraft loses control and winds up hitting the spectators could still occur.
Jimmy Leeward in the Galloping Ghost at Reno 2010
I do envision some changes to the way things are set up that may make a lot of sense. I’ve long felt that the spectators would actually enjoy the races far more from the inside of the course. This would keep the airplanes (and their momentum) directed away from the people on the ground at all times. It also would give everyone a view of the top of the aircraft, which makes much more sense since you can see the pilots. However, the financial investment required to provide the needed infrastructure on the other side of the runway would be massive. And, clearly, this wouldn’t add any safety in a situation like we saw with Jimmy Leeward. An airplane that’s completely out of a pilot’s control can wind up hitting people wherever they are. Ultimately, it boils down to who is willing to take the risk to participate in events like air racing. If there are pilot’s that are willing to fly, and people who are willing to watch them, then I believe the races should continue without question… even if no changes are put in place at all. I believe we have engineered an acceptable level of safety into the races, we just have to be willing to face the risk.
Lastly, the one idea I have that may provide a slightly safer race environment, while also creating more exciting racing, is to put a speed limit in place. If the Unlimited Class of airplanes had an electronically monitored speed limit of maybe 450 mph (instant disqualification if exceeded), we’d see the field pull much closer together. We’d remove the quest for the maximum amount of speed possible (which obviously is a large part of the draw for the race teams, the pilots, and the fans) but we’d put the airplanes much closer together in a fight for first place. The trade off is that the risks for an accident go way up when you have traffic. The race is far more exciting when the airplanes are closer together, but the chance for contact between the airplanes increases significantly.
In the end, it really seems to boil down to whether we are willing as people to accept the risks that come with living life to the maximum. I hope that we are… I hope the Reno Air Races continue.
Reader Comments (60)
Thanks for the post. The question I still have and I haven't seen addressed is the possibility of aerodynamic flutter causing the initial damage. Also your quote, "This is the point where I believe it is essential to believe that God is ultimately in control. He could have easily caused the airplane to miss the people on the ground, but for reasons that we simple humans cannot know, He didn’t ", is not essential for some of us less simple humans.
Thank you Martt for your statements. All of them. As Dennis stated above I was curious if flutter would have initiated the sequence of events. I found your site looking for wrinkles in the fuse that I had heard was in some of the photos. I have no doubt this plane was not modified by some shade tree mechanics and was scientifically sound. I fly RC planes and know what flutter can do to a flying surface, experienced it first hand. I was there the Sunday before watching practice and saw many of the planes experience the bumps in the turns. Everything looked normal on Jimmys plane until it went up.
My prayers go out to all involved and to Jimmys family and the crew.
I've not noticed any mention of the fact the tail wheel was extended or why.
AMEN-------the truth....in many ways.
The people here that have a problem with the Christian perspective will soon find out there is a god... like it or not. I truly hope you people see things differently before it's your time. You will be held accountable.
It sounds to me like these critics might be more at home in the Soviet Union since they can't seem to tolerate what others have to say. Don't we call those types hypocrites? Are you that full of hate you can't even hear it? Finally, It is truly amazing to me anyone has enough faith to believe in evolution... this IS your religion. Something from nothing??? Everything goes from order to disorder, not the other way around!
Thanks martt... excellent job!!!
Matt,
Well done. I was in the stands above the accident and agree with your points. I have one comment to add that I have not seen, or heard, anywhere. There are three snapshots of the impact and subsequent explosion of the aircraft. in those photos, one can clearly see a broken pilots seat at the top of the arc of the debris cloud. It is almost flat. Flight seats don't recline! I believe this photographic evidence corroborates your (and my) theory that his seat collapsed due to high G-load. The Ghost was an unguided missile. As many others who were there have said, it was coming right at us for a moment. I believe it was following the control inputs from the damaged elevator. It caused the pitch up. It caused the eventual roll and it caused that plane to just miss hundreds of people in the stands. As you state, a few more feet of altitude before the roll and we would have had a very different outcome.
Jeff
Great job! Thanks God for you and thanks God for your faith in the God of the Bible!! Thanks God for the integrity of your truly manly heart! Your faith just makes your science and knowledge better! It's clear that the hate spewing, mocking, agressive, fanatical atheist posting here shows the highest level of insanity by attacking a God that he says doesn't exist, and repeatedly and obssesively attacking the faith of others like a criminal Marxist bent on the imposition of his own tyranny. What a hideous and poor product of the "evolution' of atheism!! I prefer to fly in formation with those who don't need this kind of evolution. In the heaven of freedon we shall see Jimmy Leeward! Amen!
not factual,worlds apart,no emperical proof,you intellectual children have not been doing your home work,what you dont understand is that spritual knowledge is foolishness to the minds of the non preceptive ,in other words you dolts havent reached our level of understanding yet ................................... nice article Martt
This thread has been fascinating from article to finish. Thank you to all involved. First time attendee to the Reno Air Races 2013.
garmekea e3d3fd1842 https://stonerx.me/graphoutunef