pilots of the controls of the galloping ghost was well known in air show circles. 74-year-old jimmy leeward had 30 years of experience and had been performing at this air show since 1975. he was the owner of leeward air ranch racing team and his website said he's flown more than 200 different types of airplanes. leeward was also a movie stunt pilot and appeared in films such as "cloud dancers." and just in, new video of leeward himself. this is from an interview taken just yesterday. coming up, you'll hear his comments on this interview and what he has to say about being part of this air show. >>> tonight, we're learning more about the plane that crashed. elise kirschner joins us live with more tonight. >> reporter: that airplane dealer operated out of the airport here. p-51s are rare planes. during world war ii, thousands were produced. but today there are only about 75 left in the world. >> visceral feeling of, oh, my god that this could happen. >> reporter: t.j. knapp knows all about the p-51, the fighter plane that plunged into the grandstands in reno. >> it was a high performance airpl

air show officials interviewed jimmy leeward a day before he died. >> we are as fast as anybody in the field. or maybe faster. >> reporter: reggie kumar, kron 4 news. >> cameras were rolling watching the race as the aircraft suddenly crashed into the ground. watch and listen as one photographer sees the explosion, shocked and tries to figure out what happened. >> oh, my god! holy -- holy -- did you see that? >> what happened? >> he crashed. holy -- come on. come on. come. holy -- did you see that? i saw him pull out. i got the whole thing on video. but man -- here. over there. >> the latest number indicate three people are dead, including the pilot. 56 people rushed to the hospital. at last check 15 of them were considered in critical condition. 13 in serious condition and 28 suffered nonlife threatening injuries. stay with kron 4 news as we continue to cover this crash. we will have updates on our website and on facebook as well as tomorrow on the morning news at 7:00 a.m. >>> we have developing news out of san jose tonight. you are looking at a live picture where police believe a sho

pilot john parker is the same age as jimmy leeward and every bit as seasoned. >> the jimmy leeward incident was a tragic accident but that's all it was was a tragic accident and should the incident have happened ten seconds sooner or ten seconds later you wouldn't be here. >> reporter: the reno air race was already the last of its kind. many here expect that friday may have been the last, period. david wright, abc news, reno. >>> and in a moment we're going to ask all of you to join us in taking a test. a crime scene. can you remember the thief? take a look at it. and can you believe your own eyes? >>> also ahead on "world news," the new college student who tweeted us that she wants to help buy what is made in america and we show you what we did and how it could create 500,000 american jobs. >>> and we know the teacher who helped change oprah's life. well, which teacher helped change yours? if you think occasional irregularity is no big deal, think twice. it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn'

airplane owners favored the vintage planes, especially his world war ii era p-51 mustang. >> hi, i'm jimmy leeward here at leeward air ranch. we finally have galloping ghost back in the air. >> he was also a stunt pilot in several movies and gave an interview at the show on thursday. >> or maybe even a little faster. >> sounding confident, he didn't want to show his hand on what kind of speeds his plane could reach. >> we've been playing poker since last monday and so it's ready -- we're ready to show a couple more cards. we'll see on friday what happens. and then saturday we'll probably play our third ace and on sunday our fourth ace. >> race organizers say his medical records were up to date. initial speculation from attendees and other aviation experts focused on the tail of the aircraft because photographs show a key part missing. investigators came across what may be that piece to break away from the aircraft. >> a component has been recovered in the area where that was observed. but i think it's critical at this point to know that we have not identified the component. it will be examined. so

nannette miranda reporting live. >>> jimmyly ward was -- jimmy leeward was flying the plane. he was a represented pilot and known for his skill and a legend among enthusiasts. they say fatalities of today's scope are extremely rare. >> and the history of airshows and air racing, this essentially never happens because of all of the regulations and policies safeguards put in place. in fact, in the last 50 years there has only been one spectator fatality at an airshow or an air race. so the safety record of airshows and air races has been spectacular for decades and decades. >> he was speaking about spectator fatalities, but over the course of the sport's 44-year history there have been a total of 19 deaths from crashes and collisions in 2007. two pilots died over the course of four days. >>> leeward named his plane "the gal loping ghost" and it was a muss take fighter. the plane sat in a hangar for 40 years and brought out of retirement three years ago. he made several modifications including shortening the wings by five feet to make it for efficient. and back in 1999, another

tomorrow, there will be a memorial service for the pilot, jimmy leeward, at his hangar. we are also told that nevada governor brian sandoval is on his way to the accident scene. this is a very fluid scene. they are still trying to figure out what caused this aircraft to plummet out of the sky and injure so many people. to run the totals here, 75 injuries, the report we're getting, at least 25 of those in critical condition, three confirmed fatalities, and there may be more. if we get more information, we'll pass it on to you. >> ken, thank you. >>> now, we want to update breaking news out of san jose. a suspect who is armed, considered very dangerous, shot a man at willow glenn gas station, then apparently car jacked a woman at a shopping center close by. robert lyles has the late details on the car jacking victim. robert? >> reporter: well, allen and dana, this story continues to develop as we speak. just a few minutes ago, we have learned the identity of that car jacking victim. she is 51-year-old cindy nguyen, a well-known real estate agent with pn real estate group r

jimmy leeward was a veteran flyer. the 74-year-old florida real estate developer even worked as a stunt pilot for the movies. leeward flew stunt scenes in "the tuskegee airmen" and "amelia." days before the crash he expressed confidence about how he would do. >> right now i think we've calculated out, we're as fast as anybody in the field or maybe even a little faster. but to start with we really didn't want to show our hand until about saturday or sunday. >> again, sadly pilot leeward died in that crash. a memorial that was scheduled for leeward in reno today has now been cancelled. all right. take a closer look at this photograph. the photograph of leeward's p-51 mustang taken just before the crash. is getting a whole lot of attention right now. that circled area right there, you'll notice there's a piece missing. that elevator trim tab that our dan simon was talking about, steve cowell is an aviation expert and knows jimmy leeward. steve, i know this is very difficult to talk about the examination of this plane just

the pilot of that plane, his name is jimmy leeward.eople are saying they believe he tried to maneuver that plane at the last moment to avoid the more crowded area there. also, we have been seeing condolences and notes come in to him, at least 500 at last check on his facebook page. these are just a few we're showing you here. one from dom saying condolences to all the families involved in this tragedy, such a sad loss of life of those doing and whachg what they loved. another from colette saying my heart goes out to all the families. rest in peace jimmy. feeling for you jimmy and your loved ones. may your soul rest in peace as i'm sure you are soaring in your heart's content now. this apparently from leeward's son, chad. this says thank you to everyone for the incredible outpouring of support, also include the bible scripture saying cast your cares on the lord and he will sustain you. we continue to follow that story. again, right now, they are investigating, but no word on what caused the crash. let's turn back to politics now. the ne

. >> the pilot jimmy leeward was flying his mustang went something went terribly wrong. >> the plane turned hard he must have been hard on the stick to get as far away from the stands as possible. >> he went boxed seat area to one side of the grandstands in the resulted of mass casualty situation. one medical officer at the scene more than 75 people were injured many of them critically. scores were taken to area hospitals. >> i was wondering how many people got hurt. >> inspectors at the scene during the crash saying there were no flames upon impact but the debris field was widespread. >> we are all devastated by this tragedy. we are doing everything we can to work with the folks that directly and personally affected by this. >> the cause of crash is still under investigation. an air show official thinks there are indications that points to mechanical problems. i'm nannette miranda "abc 7 news." >> jimmy leeward was flying the plane, he was well known for his skill and a legend among flying enthusiasts. fay taltsd in yesterday is extremely rare. >> in the history of air racing this n

abc news. >> again jimmy leeward the pilot of the plane that crashe crashed. video of him arisk at the races last year. 74-year-old was a veteran and well known for his skills. >> he just loved what he did. he was an air racing legend. he's flown for the motion picture industry. for years and years and years. he's really an air racing legend as is the galloping ghost. >>reporter: now over the course of the sports history there have been a total of 19 death day to crashes and collisions. 2007 alone 2 pilots died over the course of 4 day in separate incidents. leif report from reno at 11 over on channel 7 an continuing coverage at 7 news.com. so stay with us for this more on the tragedy in reno gentleman other top story tonight. search for the man responsible for a violent crime spree in san jose. here's surveillance video of the man police say opened fire at gas station shooting another man in a robbery attempt. that happened at lincoln and kurt then carjack vehicle at shopping center at monterey road and kurt. woman driver is missing and tonight the same man i

it was piloted by a gentleman named jimmy leeward.nfirm the status of the pilot or anyone for that matter. we're working on it. >> do you know the circumstances under -- was he having trouble in the air? do you know why it crashed? >> he it was about a lap or two into the unlimited race. we don't know why it crashed. the pilot did call in. he did pull out of the lap, which is what they do. they usually pull up, directly up to clear the race track. but outside of that, we don't have any details as to what that. the course of action, the faa is on the scene, as well as the national transportation safety board. they will investigate. and i'm sure are investigating right now to determine a cause. we don't have anything yet. >> you said it was your unlimited race. what does that mean? unlimited class? >> exactly. a race is broken up into, the events are broken up into six weight classes. the unlimited class is our most recognized class. the engine, it is the gold race out here today. was a qualifying day. tomorrow is -- tomorrow and sunday

the pilot, jimmy leeward, believed to be killed in that crash.b cashell. mr. mayor, what is the latest? do you have any sense of a number of casualties at this point? mr. mayor, it is anderson cooper. can you hear me? >> yes, sir. can you hear me? >> yes, sir, i can. any -- do you have any sense of casualties or injured at this point? >> no, sir, we don't have any report on those at this time. the ntsb is out on the field now going through everything, but we don't have any numbers at this time at all. they been evacuated from the area? >> everybody injured was evacuated. emergency management team out here did an unbelievable job, and everybody was in the hospital in short notice. >> were you at the race when it occurred? >> no, i just was leaving my office when i heard about it and the city manager and i and the fire chief and chief of police came out here. >> any idea what went wrong? >> no, sir, not at this time. i haven't been given anything on that and i have been looking for it. >> do you have a sense -- it seems like ntsb officials, faa off

this is 74 year old jimmy leeward. we hope to hear from a lot more people today who can give us some insight about what happened here. >>> and stay with us ktvu for the latest on this crash. we have more information as well as video on our website at ktvu.com. >>> a woman is still missing after a shooting suspect stole her car while she was inside. alley is live at an apartment complex where the gunman was last seen. >> reporter: san jose police say the last time they saw this shooting and carjacking suspect was 6:00 yesterday evening. they spotted him as he was running into this housing development. they say he ran right down the court directly into the housing complex. police started searching for him immediately afterwards. police are still looking for that man this morning. just in the last hour we watched san jose police go door to door in neighborhoods nearby. those police officers were giving residents information about the man that they are looking for -- people who lived here weren't allowed inside while polic

. >> reporter: it turns out jimmy leeward knew he was in trouble and tried to move away from the stands. a move that saved lives. >> it looks like he was pulling as far on the stick to try to get away from the stands. >> reporter: smoking debris covered the ground. 56 total taken to local hospitals. the pilot and two spectators died. tonya of hayward recounted the scene by phone. >> there were bodies everywhere. people who looked like they had survived, they were missing limbs. it was absolute carnage. >> reporter: tonight we've learned that race officials have closed the airfield and the ntsb is investigating. all races scheduled for the weekend have been cancelled. >>> at a news conference tonight. officials said 15 of the 56 engine spectators are now in critical condition. 14 are in serious condition with injuries that are life threatening. the others are have nonserious or not life threatening conditions. >> the great stories of the week is jimmie lee worth galloping course. he turned the course in the 1940s cleveland air racer in the fifth position. >> reporter: the website air sho

. >> reporter: it turns out jimmy leeward knew he was in trouble and tried to move away from the standsa move that saved lives. >> it looks like he was pulling as far on the stick to try to get away from the stands. >> reporter: smoking debris covered the ground. 56 total taken to local hospitals. the pilot and two spectators died. tonya of hayward recounted the scene by phone. >> there were bodies everywhere. people who looked like they had survived, they were missing limbs. it was absolute carnage. >> reporter: tonight we've learned that race officials have closed the airfield and the ntsb is investigating. all races scheduled for the weekend have been cancelled. >>> at a news conference tonight. officials said 15 of the 56 engine spectators are now in critical condition. 14 are in serious condition with injuries that are life threatening. the others are have nonserious or not life threatening conditions. >> the great stories of the week is jimmie lee worth galloping course. he turned the course in the 1940s cleveland air racer in the fifth position. >> reporter: the website air show

saturday officials announced there were nine dead, including the pilot. 74-year-old jimmy leeward was the pilot, a popular veteran stunt pilot on the air show circuit. leeward lived in florida where he developed an air ranch, a pilot's paradise where people can build their homes and keep their planes. >> that was his life. >> he died doing what he loved the most other than his family and his god. >> some suspect leeward may have blacked out during the race. organizers say they believe it was a mechanical failure. compare these two photographs. this is leeward's world war ii vintage plane earlier in the day and this is it just before the crash. look at the tail and along the sides. you can see parts breaking off. ultimately it will be the ntsb who determines exactly what caused the crash. >> this accident took only a few seconds to occur. it is going to take the ntsb months to not only put the factual information today, but analyze it. >> diane, abc news, nevada. >> there was another deadly airshow crash yesterday in west virginia. the pilot was killed when his world war ii era plane w

. >> reporter: and many people here are calling that pilot, 74- year-old jimmy leeward, a hero for the split second decision to crash onto the tarmac in front of the vip box seats instead of into the grandstands where there would have been more cash wait a minutes. more casualties. the seen is back that way. ntsb officials are conducting a formality investigation. watch and listen to this gut wrenching home video of the crash. the plane, a p-51 mustang, world war ii vintage, had a mechanical malfunction. authorities are reporting the pilot and two others are the only ones confirmed dead but that number is expected to rise. dozens were wounded. the plane burst into smithereens sending shrapnel into the crowd. witnesses described widespread carnage, severed limbs and bodies flying through the air. >> the next thing i saw, a small fireball and shrapnel flying straight up in the air. at that time i turned my back. i turned around to protect my son and my daughter. >> it's a tragedy for all of us in this small family of air racing. our fans, those that are injured, the victims, those that a

. >> witnesses called jimmy leeward a hero for apparently ditching his plane on the tarmac. >> i think both for that pilot because he pulled back and saw the bleachers. i would guess he saved 200 or 300 other people. >> you would not be able to tolerate the fact that there was anybody hurt much less died. >> what went wrong question or investigators are on the scene right now trying to find out. they say video and photographs are going to help their efforts, including photos of a broken piece of the plane's tail very at. >> is a component has been uncovered in the area where that is observed. but i think it is critical at this point to know that we have not identified the component rated it will be examined, so we don't really know what the component is or is it even came from this particular aircraft. >> brad pillow was taking photos. he says the broken tail could seriously have impacted the plane in flight. >> especially if it didn't come completely off. it's going to change the attitude of the plane. it would be like turning your steering will sharp on the freeway and you flip over.

spectator know they were doing so too pilot john parker the same age as jimmy leeward and every bit as. >> the leeward incident was a tragic accident that's all it was was a tragic accident and should the incident have happened 10 seconds sooner or 10 seconds later, you wouldn't be here. >>reporter: reno air race was already the last of its kind. many here expected friday may have been the last, period. david wrait, abc news, rain 0. >> and in southern california 2 marines were killed this afternoon when an attack helicopter went down during a training exercise at camp pendleton. still no word yet what caused the accident that setoff a brush fire that spread to 120 acres. sfichlt president obama today unveiled new plan to cut the federal deficit by 2 trillion i don't know dollars. it calls for raising tax on his nearly everyone making more than 25 250,000 dollars a year. and establishes a minimum tax on people making 1 million or more per year. >> it is wrong that in the united states of america teacher or a nurse or a construction worker who earns 50,000 dollars should pay higher tax

. >> reporter: part of the tail section looks like it's missing which could have caused pilot jimmy leeward to lose control. >> shock. absolute shock. never dreamed that something like this would happen to someone that you know. >> reporter: leeward and eight spectators died in the crash, including john crate, who his family believes he protected his son and two friends who survived. >> he probably sheltered his son. that's the kind of guy he was. a very, very good dad, very good husband, very in love with my sister. >> reporter: emotions just like the questions that continue to linger after the tragic crash. jay gray, nbc news. >>> elsewhere this morning, president obama will unveil a deficit reduction plan that calls for an increased tax rate for those making more than $1 million a year. but republicans opposed to any tax hikes whatsoever are calling the president's suggestions dead on arrival. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. taxes, the president today will propose a plan that he says should cut nearly $4.5 tril

witnesses say it appears the pilot jimmy leeward fought the diving plane in an attempt to miss the main grandstand. with the air races cancelled pilots and crew members are questioning the future of their sport. we sat down and talked to some of them and talk to one man that is worried it could bring the sport of air racing to an end. >> a crash every year but never in thedowns. >> he has been building airplanes with his father sin he was 12. he has always known air racing was dangerous. >> it's rough. seen my dad crash his plane. >> but watching the fighter plane plunge to the ground was like nothing he has ever seen. >> it looked like it was coming toward us. i was running for the hills. seeing ambulance after ambulance going by. a sick feeling in your stomach. >> eldridge says he is dealing with another sick feel knowing that a result of the crash, he might never see the reno air races again. >> i look forward to this. it's hard to know we're not coming back. >> not going to come back next year? >> there won't be any races. such a tragedy and horror, that half the pilots i have heard

saturday officials announced there were nine dead, including the pilot. 74-year-old jimmy leeward wasilot, a popular veteran stunt pilot on the air show circuit. leeward lived in florida where he developed a air ranch, a pilot's paradise where people can build their holmes and keep their planes. >> that was his life. >> he died doing what he loved the most other than his family and his god. >> some suspect leeward may have blacked out during the race. arguers say they believe it was a mechanical failure. compare these two photographs. this is leeward's world war ii vintage plane earlier in the day and this is it just before the crash. look at the tail and along the sides. you can see parts breaking off. ultimately it will be the ntsb who determines exactly what caused the crash. >> this accident took only a few seconds to occur. it is going to take the ntsb months to not only put the factual information today, but analyze it. >> diane, abc news, nevada. >> there's another deadly airshow crash yesterday in west virginia. the pilot was killed when his world war ii era plane went down. t

. >> pilot jimmy leeward was flying his p-51 mustang, the galloping ghost, when something went terribly wrong. >> the plane just kind of turned hard and when it started coming down, it looked like he must have been pulling really hard on the stick to try to get it as far away from the stands as possible. >> his plane drove directly into the box seat area to one side of the grandstand, resulting in what many described as a mass casualty situation. one medical officer at the scene said more than 75 people were injured, many critically. scores were taken to area hospitals. >> i am just wondering how many people got hurt. >> faa inspectors at the scene during the crash say there were no flames upon impact but the debris field was widespread. >> we are all devastated by this tragedy and we are doing everything we can to move along and communicate and work with the folks that are directly and adversely affected by this. >> the cause of the crash is still under investigation, but an airshow official thinks there are indications that point to mechanical problems. in reno, i'm nannette miranda.

the pilot identified as jimmy leeward was killed. dozens were injured. >> the plane was flying. there was speculation he had gone on a different areas as to what took place. different people see different things. there appeared to be some air flight problem with the aircraft that constitute go out of control. we all know what the end result was of that. >> the wreckage was spread across a wide area causing panic among the onlookers. have beenpital is receiving the injured. the fear is the number of dead will rise. the competition has been cancelled but the future of such a future races will be under scrutiny. pilot fatalities are relatively common with planes flying as low as 15 meters from the ground. critics say that with some of spectators it was on a matter of time before a serious accident happened. these are questions for later. for now reno is in shock at the terrible lands to the spectacle. -- end to the spectacle. >> joining me from los angeles is peter. do we know it anymore what happens to this plane and a caused it to crash? >> we do not know the cause of the crash.

jimmy leeward died at the crash.ion of the tail called the trim tab appears to be missing. investigators say they have recovered a component which they say may be related to what is seen in the photos. >>> it's been a tragic weekend for air shows. we've learned today of a crash at a thunder over the ridge air show in mart inzburg, west virginia. the crash involved a 228 aircraft. our reporter jen clark took these photos. she called the crash very scary. no information on injuries so far. we'll bring you the details just as soon as we get them here on krn. thank you so much for watching us. i'm don lemon. i'll be back here an hour from now. in the meantime, ""the situation room" with wolf blitzer" begins right now. >> many republicans are looking at the gop

. >> reporter: in a promotional video, jimmy leeward, the pilot who crashed, described the extensive modifications that made this old propeller plane race as fast as a jet. >> you need those type of speeds. you need jet speeds. >> any time you modify an airplane that has been designed for one function to make it do another function, it makes it less safe. >> reporter: eyewitnesses say they saw pieces of the plane's tail fall off as it made its final turn. the photos support that. and there's this picture. taken the instant before the crash. >> there is no pilot's head in that cockpit. it tells me he was likely unconscious, slumped over the controls. >> piecing together exactly what happened is now the task of federal investigators. >> really, our mission is identify what caused it and then make safety recommendations so it never happens again. >> reporter: even some longtime fans of the reno air race now admit in hindsight this was an accident waiting to happen. the national transportation safety board says its most promising clues may come from a forward facing camera mounted on the

. >> pilot jimmy leeward was flying his p51 mustang, the galloping ghost, when something went terribly wrong. >> the plane just kind of turned hard and when it started coming down, it looked like he must have been pulling really hard on the stick to try to get it as far away from the stands as possible. >> his plane drove directly into the box seat area to one side of the grandstand, resulting in what many described as a mass casualty situation. one medical officer at the scene said more than 75 people were injured, many critically. scores were taken to area hospitals. >> i am just wondering how many people got hurt. >> faa inspectors at the scene during the crash say there were no flames upon impact but the debris field was widespread. >> we are all devastated by this tragedy and we are doing everything we can to move along and communicate and work with the folks that are directly and adversely affected by this. >> the cause of the crash is still under investigation, but an airshow official thinks there are indications that point to mechanical problems. in reno, i'm nannette miranda.

. >> we have now learn that had the pilot was jimmy leeward from florida. his fan page says he has been flying planes since the 70s. he was flying a plane like this one a world war ii flight capable of hitting 300 miles per hour. now it is on his way to reno right now. we will have a live update on the crash for you tonight on the 10:00 news. >>> now to san jose there's a search underway for a 52-year- old woman -- police say the gunman first shot a customer at 11:00 a.m. then car jacked the missing woman about one hour later. video show it is man wearing a texas rangerring catch. we are told the victim is expected to survive. police say the gunman then drove to the shopping kenter and aparently kidnapped 52-year- old cindy. then called back to helping her. in 1-9d 97, the license plane 5gxw 452. we will have a live update for you on this developing story tonight on the 10:00 news. >> within just the past hour the highway patrol reopened all lanesover interstate 8 o after a deadly crash that still has traffic backed up. a motorcyclist was killed in a collis

. >> reporter: he even trained pilot jimmy leeward on it in 1972. >> leeward was in the front cockpit, i was in the back. >> reporter: it was leeward in this cockpit when it suddenly crashed. fans in reno hope the show will return next year. >> this was a fluke. it could have had a news helicopter fly over head and fly out of the sky, anything can happen. >> reporter: but perkins says the disaster will have an impact beyond that event. >> yes there will be a ripple effect. yes there will be some diminishment of the airways venue, yes the faa will make more rules. >> reporter: yes he says there's an important difference between air races and the kind of air show pilots are planning for this weekend. >> it's a well scripted presentation of the airplane out in front of the audience. no energy directed toward the audience at any time. all the variables very well controlled. >> reporter: no spectator has been killed in an air show in the u.s. since 1952. perkins says it's a level of safety he can vouch for. >> i do air show, have i had close calls? yes, have i had close calls at air shows,

pilot john parker is the same age as jimmy leeward and every bit as seasoned. >> the jimmy leeward incidenthat's all it was, was a tragic accident. and should the incident have happened ten seconds sooner or ten seconds later, you wouldn't be here. >> reporter: the reno air race was already the last of its kind. many here expect that friday may have been the last, period. david wright, abc news, reno. >>> president obama is focusing on foreign policy today, with meetings at the u.n. here in new york. yesterday the president presented his proposal for cutting the federal deficit. among the more controversial ideas is a plan to hike taxes on wealthy americans. republicans are calling the proposal class warfare. >>> meanwhile, a group of protesters is taking their anger at wall street to wall street. they've been demonstrating in new york's financial district since the weekend. and many say they want the protests to continue all week long. one protester told us the group is inspired by the demonstrations in egypt and the changes that they were able to bring about. >>> wendy's is looking to boo

. >> reporter: jimmy leeward, a well-known and respected racing pilot, was helping the p-51 mustang that crashed into spectator seats. he talked yesterday about how he thought he might win the races this week. >> right now, i think we've calculated out, we're as fast as anybody in the field. >> reporter: the outcome, of course, was much different. >> pulled out of formation, came around here -- >> reporter: ty jacobson was about 100 yards from the crash and took this video. i spoke with him tonight via skype. i asked him if he could tell what went wrong. >> i was over in the pit area, walking around to find some pilots that i knew from my hometown and saw two planes that were in formation coming around turn four. another plane that was just by itself trying to chase them and then the fourth plane after that did what's called a mayday maneuver and he pulled out of formation and pitched up very high, probably to 6,500 feet and banked to the right and did a rolling maneuver and came back down and went into the crowd. >> reporter: jacobson knows all about tragedy and air shows. >> i lost my

the pilot is jimmy leeward of ocala, florida. he's an 80-year-old man.r of leeward air ranch racing team, a well known racing pilot. he's flown more than 120 races and served as a stunt pilot for numerous movies. in an interview with the ocala star banner last year, he described how he has flown 250 types of planes and has a particular fondness for the p-51. they're more fun, more speed, more challenge. speed, speed and more speed. terms of the event that this happened at, the associated press describes it as like a car race in the sky. with planes flying wing tip to wing tip as low as 50 feet off the sage brush at speeds sometimes surpassing 500 miles per hour. pilots follow an oval path around pylons with distances and speeds depending on the class of aircraft. ntsb -- a former ntsb we spoke with told us that there is no other air race exactly like this in the country. in terms of what we know about injuries and deaths, the person who is the head of the air racing association that puts on this event said that pilot was killed in this crash. that is not

. >> reporter: the pilot was veteran racer and hollywood stuntman 74-year-old jimmy leeward. he spoke just the day before the crash about his beloved plane "the galloping ghost." >> right now i think we've calculated out we're as fast as anybody in the field or maybe even a little faster. >> reporter: you saw jimmy the night before this race? >> yes, he stopped by my hangar. >> reporter: and jimmy gave his friend, rex mcbride, his own racing cap. >> not only is it jimmy it's the whole race scene i'm feeling sad for, and all the other people, but i'm worried that they're going to stop the races over this. >> reporter: 22 people have died since the races began in 1964, but this is the first crash to ever kill spectators. >> he would not be able to tolerate the fact if there was anybody hurt, much less died. i-- i know he would-- that's-- that wouldn't be jimmy. >> reporter: the n.t.s.b. says its investigation will take months and there is suspicion a part of the plane came off before impact. investigators also say they'll be relying heavily on that video captured by spectators.

the pilot's name, jimmy leeward, real estate developer, stunt pilot, from ocala, florida.ee the crash there no official confirmation but does appear he was killed in the crash and a memorial is planned tomorrow at the airfield. just yesterday, he had this to say about the upcoming race. >> right now, i think we are calculated out, as fast as anybody in the field, or maybe even a little faster, but to start with we really didn't want to show our hand until about saturday or sunday. we have been playing poker since last monday. so it's ready -- we are ready to show a couple more cards, see on friday what happens and saturday, we will probably go ahead and play our thirds aand on sunday, we will do our fourth ace. >> his dad was a pilot, avenues pilot all his life. joined once again on the phone by jim tillman, retired airline pilot. also cnn reporter kelly smooth is live on the scene in rein he know you just talked to an eyewitness. what did they say? >> yeah, i was -- i was arriving here this evening after crash, a couple of amateur pilots themselves from ontario who witnes

but other aviation experts believe the 74-year-old pilot, jimmy leeward, passed out from extreme acceleration. it plunge out of control at what appeared to be full throttle. the exact cause may not known -- may not be known for months. >>> medical parts have to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. but now medical students are learning how to perform an autopsy without a real body. >> that is without a real, live body. here's the cutting-edge technology that does not require a scalpel. >> reporter: inside the anatomy lab at stanford university, scientists roll out a human cadaver. where is the body? have you to plug it in first. soon, you're eye to eye with the world's first virtual cadaver. >> we can rotate it around like this. >> reporter: the face is actually the photograph of a living person. but underneath you get a remarkable look at 3-d anatomy using real-life images taken from real human and real human da daffers, from the muscle -- cadavers, from the muscles to the bones. >> i love it. one finger rotates it. >> reporter: he let my fingers do the walking. >> so i'm actua

and we're told that can cause the plane to yank one direction or another and perhaps the pilot, jimmy leeward overcorrected it and stalled. this is leeward, he said in this recent youtube video that he made radical modifications to his plane. the modifications included shortening the wings significantly. now listen to this. today a pilot from placerville named ray sherwood is telling the police about a similar incident back in 1999. the same kinds of modifications caused the very same plane to lose its trim tab back in 1999. in that case the pilot deeded and nobody else was hurt. >> who oversees -- obviously the racing pilots want to go fast and they want to modify the planes. but who oversees that to make sure it's safe? >> reporter: the faa checks thoroughly. they check the planes and the modifications and the pilot. in the case of the reno race, they eliminated six of the 22 jets that were involved in this competition. they were barred because of concerns about the modifications including changes to their engines. so they are checked. but as part of this process with the ntsb will be revie

the pilot, 74-year-old jimmy leeward. >> 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. >> reporter: were they okay? that's one question investigators will try to answer. in the chaos that followed the crash, volunteers rushed in to help. some fuelled up an old huey helicopter on display and flew victims to the hospital. >> it was an experience that i don't wish upon anybody. you know what i mean? i don't wish anybody to ever go through that. >> reporter: the ntsb is expected to issue safety recommendations for preventing future tragedies like this one. george lewis, nbc news, reno. >>> in news from overseas tonight, the crackdown in yemen is at a high pitch this evening. at least 56 people have been killed over just the past two days in what's described as the most violent pushback yet against pro democracy demonstrators there between soldiers loyal to president saleh and those who defected. >>> and the stage is set for a showdown tonight at the u.n. palestinian president mahmoud abbas said he is not back

he's a pilot who met jimmy leeward the pilot of that plane that went down. we'll get his take on what happens at this deadly crash. >>> let's check in with jacqui jeras. this is one of the last weekends, the last weekend of summer and feeling like it because it's very cool. >> very refreshing. it's football weather if i saw football weather today is that day. >> lots of football games this weekend. >> got to loyalist. gorgeous. cooler than normal. we're cooler than we should be for this time the year by a good margin for some people too. fall equinox takes place on friday. meteorologically when we take records, fall starts september 21st. i love fall weather. temperatures ten to 15 degrees below average for parts of the midwest. and then also the mid-atlantic states and down here into the carolinas everybody else in this blue swath looking for temperatures about five to ten degrees below normal. we body out in terms of how cold it will be with this area of high pressure that brought in this nice taste of fall. we'll gradually warm thing up through the rest o

part of the plane's tail section looks like it's missing, which could have caused pilot jimmy leeward to lose control. >> shock. absolute shock. never dreamed that something like this would happen to someone that you know. >> reporter: leeward and eight spectators died in the crash, including this man whose family believes he perished protecting his son and two friends, who survived. >> he probably sheltered his son. that's the kind of guy he was. very, very good dad. very good husband. very in love with my sister. >> reporter: emotions just like the questions that continue to linger after the tragic crash. jay gray, nbc news. >>> elsewhere this morning, president obama will unveil a deficit reduction plan that calls for an increased tax rate for those making more than $1 million a year. but republicans opposed to any tax hikes whatsoever are calling the president's suggestions dead on arrival. tracy potts joins us from washington with more. >> reporter: including what lawmakers already agreed to last summer, this plan would cut over $4 trillion over the course of a decade, but it wou

. >> piloting the world war ii vintage p-51 mustang, 74-year-old jimmy leeward, a veteran of newman ruumerousir and stunt piloting -- >> shock, absolute shock. we never dreamed something like this would happen to someone you know. >> one of the spectators who died, john crake, may have been trying to save his son and his son's two friends who died. >> very goodman, very good husband. very much in love with my sister. >> in this youtube video, you can see himself trying to run away from the impact area. >> it was like a missile coming out of nowhere. it was just like, i don't know how i'm going to survive this. >> reporter: the crash in reno is raising concerns about the safety of these events. >> the whole issue is, really, what's the benefit of these air races and what's the risk? you have to weigh the benefits against the risk. >> and again, that was george lewis reporting. federal officials say one thing that may come out of the investigation is a set of recommendations to improve safety at air shows and air races across this country. >>> in hayward, police are trying to figure out a motiv

following the tragedy puts the number of injured at 74. 11 people are dead including the pilot jimmy leeward. a final report will take months. >>> a vigil is planned tonight for a campbell woman who was carjacked, kidnapped and murdered. friend and family of cindy nguyen will gather at 7:00 at the plant shopping center in san jose. that's where nguyen was kidnapped. she was a popular vietnamese radio host. the man accused of killing her, paul ray castillo, is now behind bars. >>> one out of every three retired firefighters develops cancer. a starting statistic that motivated dozens of their brothers to take the plunge. 75 of them leapt into the chilly waters of the bay this morning. this is the fourth annual san francisco fire department swim to alcatraz. the event included current and retired firefighters. they hope to raise awareness for early cancer detection. >>> tonight is the night, a dead nasa satellite is expected to fall to earth. and based on its erratic orbit, the united states is back in the possible danger zone. the latest word, it's about 9:00 tonight. most of the satellite, wh

following the tragedy puts the number of injured now at 74. 11 people are dead including the pilot, jimmy leeward. a final report is expected to take months. >>> executives from the bay area solar energy company solyndra appeared before congress. but they said very little. >> i respectfully decline to answer any questions. >> both the ceo and chief financial officer invoked their fifth amendment rights and declined to testify. solyndra went bankrupt after receiving a $535 million loan from the energy department in 2009. >>> in the meantime, the company is now being criticized for how the money was spent. the "washington post" reports $344 million went towards the construction of a new factory in fremont, but unknown amounts were spent on brand-new unused equipment and a state-of-the- art conference room which included glass walls that could be made opaque at the flip of a switch. >>> after avoiding a shutdown in april, narrowly averting default in august, the u.s. government is in serious financial trouble again. bail passed in april that funded federal -- a bill passed in april that funded feder

safety officials say the pilot of the plane jimmy leeward was operating the plane at a low altitude and high speed when it nose dived to the ground. the renowned hollywood stunt pilot was killed. he had been flying since he was 14 years old. today national transportation safety board officials are on scene trying to determine what caused leeward to lose control of that plane. investigators arrived here at 8:30 this morning and have been sifting through the evidence. >> the investigators have isolated the accident site. they've walked the accident scene, which means that they've gone through and identified and processed the wreckage. the reno police department and nevada highway patrol is mapping the wreckage area with a very high technology gps laser system. the runway has been swept and that's in preparation to open up for operation again. >> there are also reports the fighter plane was missing a piece of its aircraft before the crash. safety officials are looking into that. they are also looking at amateur video clips and photos. they have a tremendous amount of video to go through be

. >> reporter: on friday afternoon, veteran racer and hollywood stunt pilot jimmy leeward had just round add turn at a speed of up to 500 miles per hour when disaster struck. as the ntsb combed through the wreckage over the weekend investigators said they may be close to finding the cause. >> we have identified and recovered portions of the accident aircraft's tail. >> reporter: the tail is key because, just seconds before the plane plummeted to the ground, photographs show a piece of the tail section missing, something that could have caused the pilot to lose control. memory cards from the on board camera and a data recorder were also recovered and sent to washington, d.c. for analysis. >> look right here where it hit. 6. >> reporter: 25-year-old melvin george stad barely survived. >> it started coming down, i thought i'm gonna kei, i started running, then i reached around to my back and realized i was cut open. >> reporter: the crash was followed by another deadly accident at an air show in west virginia where the pilot was the loan fatality. with 10 killed in one weekend, many are que

it all happened when the pilot jimmy leeward was operating at a low altitude and high speed when the plane nose dived to the ground crashing into a box seat area at the front of the grandstand. spectators watched in horror and leeward's family was said to be in the crowd when he was killed. the renowned hollywood stunt man had been flying since he was 14 years old. today national transportation safety board officials are sifting through the evidence and say the key part of their investigation will be finding out if a piece of the vintage world war ii plane was missing before it crashed. >> a component has been recovered in the area where that was observed. but i think it's critical at this point to know that we have not identified the component. it will be examined. so we don't really know what the component is or even if it came from this particular aircraft. we are very clearly going to focus on that and that's part of the factual information gathering going on right now. >> safety officials are also looking at amateur video clips and photos. they have a tremendous amount of video

the next picture shows jimmy leeward, the pilot, on the ground before he takes off. can clearly see that he's in there, wearing a helmet, a parachute and he is strapped in by a shoulder harness, okay? the that's important because as we go to the next picture there are two important thing. look at this, the first circle is on the tail, the tail section, the landing gear. it should not be deployed. it should be tucked up underneath the belly because it's going 400 miles per hour, that adds a great deal of drag. it shouldn't be out there. now look at the important part. see the circle at the top? there is nothing visible at all inside the cockpit. in fact, you can see all the way through the cockpit to the other side and the king. now, the theory here from the ntsb might be that he passed out, that he was unconscious. but remember, he's strapped in by a shoulder harness. even if he was unconscious, you could still see his head. his head might nod forward. i talked to an aviation mechanic who works on these planes who says he believes that the seat -- because it was goin