West Virginia Air Show Crash the Second Deadly Crash this Weekend [VIDEO]
A WWII-era plane crashed at an air show in West Virgnia Saturday, killing the pilot.
This brings this weekend's air show death toll to ten, after a crash at an airshow in Reno, Nev. Friday claimed nine lives as of Saturday.
A single engine T-28 from the six-plane Trojan Horsemen Demonstration Flight Team was mid-performance when it crashed and explloded at the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House and Air Show, Saturday, at the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, W.Va.
The West Virginian Air National Guard has not released the name of the pilot killed on Saturday, but has confirmed that the he was a civilian.
The plane was registered to John Mangan of Concord, N.C.
At this point we don't know the extent of injuries or the damage to the aircraft or whether or not anyone was injured on the ground, Federal Aviatian Adminstration spokesman told the Washington Post.
On Friday afternoon, a crash at the National Championship Air Races in Reno was responsible for the death of nine people, including the plane's pilot.
Movie stunt pilot Jimmy Leeward, 74, is considered a hero by some of the show's spectators who believe the crash could have been even more tragic.
Leeward was driving a vintage P-51 Mustang plane during a performance when he lost control of the aircraft, in what event organizers suspect was a mechanical failure.
The plane crashed next to a VIP section and narrowly missed the grandstands, according to the Associated Press.
I think that pilot in the last seconds pulled up because he saw the bleachers and saved about 200 or 300 others. I don't mean this as a disrespect to others injured, but that pilot is a hero. He saved a lot of lives today. It could have been much worse, one spectator told CNN.
I closed my eyes and said I am going to die now. I was literally preparing to die and then he jerked the plane away and it landed like 25 feet from us. I want his family to know he was a hero, another told CNN.
Officials with the Air National Guard told the Washington Post they would hold a press briefing late Saturday to address the West Virginia crash.
Below is amateur video of the crash:
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