Franklin County Leader Witnessed Reno Crash
PASCO -- KEPR has learned Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck was part of the crowd who witnessed the show crash in Reno last week. His seat from the stands was about 100 feet away from where the plane plunged into the audience.
"It was just that moment of shock your brain wants to tell you I didn't really just see what I saw... It was just carnage," said Peck.
He was part of the crowd at an air race in Reno on Friday, and saw the P-51 crash into a crowd first hand. Peck took KEPR through the latest video, narrating how he experienced the tragedy.
Peck is an Air Force veteran and aviation enthusiast, but this was first time at an air race. He saw two planes zoom by before one dropped into the crowd.
"We're looking for the third one and really aren't seeing it because it's not where we expected it to be. He actually came off the course towards the grandstands climbing abruptly," explained Peck.
Peck says the plane flipped and stalled then headed down nose-first with the engine revving and the propeller spinning. There was no where to go.
"At this point he's pretty much straight down on top of us. It's one of those things where you're struck 'what am I going to do?' because there really wasn't time to do anything," explained Peck.
Peck estimates it was only three seconds from the time he noticed something was wrong, until the plane made a crater in the ground. He snapped a picture with his iPhone. Looking at it you can tell what a close call it was for Peck and his friends. He says their first instinct was to move towards the crash scene to help, "I don't think we got more than five or ten steps before [the announcers] said clearly 'Stay where you are. Do not move toward the crash scene."
Emergency responders where there within seconds. But that was too late for many hit by the wreckage, including a man from the Seattle area. Peck has witnessed plane crashes before in his Air Force career, but said this was the most dramatic he's seen. He says he'd still go see another air race, if he had the chance.
Peck continued, "Everybody has their own threshold but I think driving over Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle would probably scare me a lot more than sitting in the bleachers at an air race."
This was the 20th time a pilot has died in a plane crash at the races since they began 47 years ago but the first where spectators were killed. Officials are now looking at data recorded inside the plane to find out why it crashed.
"It was just that moment of shock your brain wants to tell you I didn't really just see what I saw... It was just carnage," said Peck.
He was part of the crowd at an air race in Reno on Friday, and saw the P-51 crash into a crowd first hand. Peck took KEPR through the latest video, narrating how he experienced the tragedy.
Peck is an Air Force veteran and aviation enthusiast, but this was first time at an air race. He saw two planes zoom by before one dropped into the crowd.
"We're looking for the third one and really aren't seeing it because it's not where we expected it to be. He actually came off the course towards the grandstands climbing abruptly," explained Peck.
Peck says the plane flipped and stalled then headed down nose-first with the engine revving and the propeller spinning. There was no where to go.
"At this point he's pretty much straight down on top of us. It's one of those things where you're struck 'what am I going to do?' because there really wasn't time to do anything," explained Peck.
Peck estimates it was only three seconds from the time he noticed something was wrong, until the plane made a crater in the ground. He snapped a picture with his iPhone. Looking at it you can tell what a close call it was for Peck and his friends. He says their first instinct was to move towards the crash scene to help, "I don't think we got more than five or ten steps before [the announcers] said clearly 'Stay where you are. Do not move toward the crash scene."
Emergency responders where there within seconds. But that was too late for many hit by the wreckage, including a man from the Seattle area. Peck has witnessed plane crashes before in his Air Force career, but said this was the most dramatic he's seen. He says he'd still go see another air race, if he had the chance.
Peck continued, "Everybody has their own threshold but I think driving over Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle would probably scare me a lot more than sitting in the bleachers at an air race."
This was the 20th time a pilot has died in a plane crash at the races since they began 47 years ago but the first where spectators were killed. Officials are now looking at data recorded inside the plane to find out why it crashed.
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