- Plane plunges into crowd at airshow in US
- Official describes crash a "mass casual event"
- Scene "like a massacre, there's blood everywhere"
A PLANE crashed in front of the grandstands at the Reno National Championship Air Races today, reportedly killing 12 people and injuring dozens more.
The P51 Mustang plummeted to the ground at around 4pm local time as stunned spectators at the event at Reno-Stead airport looked on in disbelief.
Mike Draper, a spokesman for the Reno National Championship Air Races, told the Reno Gazette-Journal he could not provide specific numbers of casualties, other than to say it was a "mass casualty event."
A medical official said more than 75 people had been injured -- 25 critically -- in the crash, but did not provide details about any fatalities.
KOLO-TV reported that 12 people had been killed.
Earlier, Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez told the Gazette-Journal there were 30 serious and 30 intermediate injuries initially reported, adding that multiple ambulances had been dispatched to the scene.
Video footage shows the plane dramatically dropping out of the sky nose first before smashing into the ground and scattering wreckage and debris over a wide area.
Witnesses likened the scene after the crash to a war zone.
"It's just like a massacre. It's like a bomb went off," witness Gerald Lent told the Gazette-Journal. "There are people lying all over the runway. There's blood everywhere."
KRNV-TV reported the pilot of the P51 Mustang was 80-year-old Jimmy Leeward from Florida. His condition was not reported.
Officials say the aircraft crashed into the box seats at the event, but did not go into the grandstands.
Reno-Stead airport authorities told KOLO-TV that all planes had been grounded and spectators had been asked to go home.
The plane that crashed was entered in the "Unlimited" class, which includes World War II vintage aircraft.
Since 1964 there have been 19 fatalities at the Air Races, now in their 48th year, the Gazette-Journal reported.
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