Sea World Traner's Death The Subject Of OSHA Hearing

Here's an article from Reuters about some of the testimony in the hearing concerning the death of Dawn Brancheau last year. She was killed when she and an orca were preparing for a Sea World show. The article is here.

Dancer Yoshiyuki Takada: 1985 Death From Fall

September 10 was the 26^th anniversary of the death of Japanese dancer Yoshiyuki Takada. He was a member of the Butoh-style dance troupe Sankai Juku, and perished when he fell off the side of the Mutual Life Building during a performance of a “hanging dance" in Seattle, Washington.

The dance involved Takada and three of his troupe-mates being suspended from the roof of the building, then slowly being lowered down the outside of the building while in a fetal position. It was a dance performance that Takada and his group had performed many time around the world, but on this occasion, Takada’s rope broke just seconds after starting the descent. The 31-year-old dancer fell a reported 80 feet to the pavement below, never releasing from his fetal position.

After the accident, Takada’s rope was examined and was found to be incapable of holding his weight, which caused the fall. The rumors were that, while some tests on the ropes and the rigging had been done, they had not been a thorough as usual, and it was possible Takada’s rope had not been tested with sandbags to see if it could hold a person’s weight.

The Los Angeles Times reporter Lewis Segal wrote an excellent article on the tragedy two days after it happened, which can be found here.

Reno's Air Race Pilot Was Lifelong Aviator

Air Racer Jimmy Leeward had skill and experience behind him. A May 2011 article in EAA Sport Aviation states that his father taught him to fly as a child and was at the controls by age 11 or 12.

Leeward has appeared in several Hollywood films as a stunt pilot. The 74-year-old pilot even developed a gated community with its own airpark, simply so others who shared his passion of piloting and working on planes could live near each other.

Leeward died Friday, Sept. 16 when his P-51 Mustang plane crashed into the VIP section at the National Championship Air Races, held at the Reno Stead Airport. At this time, nine spectators are reported dead, and six remain in critical condition.

While the investigation into the accident is it the early stages, reports seem to be focusing on a part of the plane, named "The Galloping Ghost," which may have fell off just before the plane went out of control. This piece, called an elevator trim tab, which assists the pilot with stabilizing the pitch of the plane.

Much is being made of the other modifications Leeward and his crew made to the plane to turn it into a racing machine, which include taking five inches off of the length of each wing and other modifications that, to the layperson, sounds a lot like taking important things off of a working plane.

There is even an interview posted on YouTube, the June 2011 National Championship Air Races Podcast, where Leeward makes a chilling-in-hindsight statement: "I know the speed. I know it will do the speed. The systems aren't proven yet. We think they're going to be okay."

This quote is getting some press. However, without knowing much about Leeward or his personality, it almost sounds to me like he is teasing his competition with the possibility that the plane won't be ready to race in time. It seems impossible that a racing professional such as Leeward would enter a race in a plane without having thoroughly tested all changes and modifications to his craft. Leeward, of all people, would know the risks of flying at the aircraft's limits without making sure the changes were safe. I certainly hope that the investigation proves that.

You can view the entire podcast here:

Pilot Identified In West Virginia Air Show Crash

The pilot who died in this weekend's second fatal airshow crash was named. He was John "Flash" Mangan, a father of three and 13-year serviceman in the Air Force. He died in front of the crowd at the Thunder Over The Blue Ridge airshow Saturday, Sept. 17.

His accident and death seems to be getting overshadowed by the crash in Reno, admittedly a harder crash to comprehend since spectators' deaths were involved, so I thought I'd take the time to look into Mangan's accident here.

The AP has and article up interviewing Mangan's son that gives insight into this pilot. You can find it here: AP interview with Sean Mangan.

West Virginia Air Show Crash, Sept. 17, 2011

After Reno's air crash, another heartbreaking accident happened Saturday at an airshow in Martinsburg, WV. The pilot was the only fatality in this accident. Again, video of the accident is already showing up on YouTube.

Video From Reno Air Race Crash: Sept. 16, 2011

As of this writing, there are reports that the pilot and at least 8 spectators have died in the Reno, Nevada air race crash that is all over the news. Video of the crash, from several different angles, is showing up all over YouTube. Here are just a couple of them:

Close up video of the impact:

HD video of the crash