[jogiba]

A plane that crashed into spectators at an air race in Reno last year bore modifications that weakened its structure and showed evidence that it was flown beyond its limits, investigators said Monday.

The failure of an aircraft tail structure is the probable cause of the deadly crash, but pilot Jimmy Leeward is also blamed.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that an elevator trim tab malfunction created aerodynamic instability that made Leeward's plane uncontrollable.

High-resolution photos show the skin wrinkling and the canopy separating on the World War II-era P-51 Mustang seconds before the September 2011 crash that killed the pilot and 10 people on the ground and injured more than 70.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators later found loose screws on a crucial tail assembly.

At a board hearing in Washington, Chairwoman Deborah Hersman blamed Leeward, 74, for "operating at the edge of the envelope" without fully reporting and testing modifications to his plane.


From The Detroit News: NTSB blames tail structure failure, pilot in deadly 2011 Reno air crash | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

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Last edited by jogiba; 08-27-2012 at 05:20 PM.