As thousands watched in horror, a World War II-era fighter plane competing in a Nevada event described as a car race in the sky suddenly pitched upward, rolled and did a nose-dive toward the crowded grandstand. The plane, flown by a 74-year-old veteran Hollywood stunt pilot, then slammed into the concrete in a section of VIP box seats and blew to pieces in front the pilot's family and a tight-knit group of friends who attend the annual event in Reno. Three people were killed and more than 50 injured amid a horrific scene strewn with smoking debris. Authorities say it appears a mechanical failure with the P-51 Mustang - a class of fighter plane that can fly in excess of 500 mph - was to blame. Some credit the pilot, Jimmy Leeward, with preventing the crash from being far more deadly. Leeward was among those killed.
