Officials have confirmed the death toll from last week’s plane crash at a Nevada air show has climbed from 7 to 10. One person died at St. Mary’s Medical Center over the weekend while two others died at Renown Medical Center. Over 60 people were injured in the accident. At least 4 of the injured remain in critical condition.
The crash happened Friday at Reno National Championship Air Races. Veteran pilot James Leeward, 74, lost control of a WWII-era P-51 Mustang fighter plane and crashed into a crowd of spectators. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB member Mark Rosekind said a photograph taken by a spectator shows the plane's tailfin fell off before the crash. Crash experts are trying to determine if the tailfin had anything to do with the accident.
"There are a lot of photos of specific aspects of the tail," Rosekind said. "We have found in the wreckage some parts of tail from the accident aircraft. We have those photos."
Rosekind said video footage and photos taken by spectators is a key part of the investigation. "It seems there were a tremendous number of cameras and video that was captured. On the one hand, it's an excellent source of information, but on the other hand, there's not a lot of other specific components from the wreckage that at this point we can identify,” he added.
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