Pilot Confirmed Dead After In-Flight Breakup

ANN Real-Time Update, 2217 ET, 09.08.14: ANN has confirmed that the Reno Air Races suffered a tragic loss today (Monday) as the one-of-a-kind GP-5 air racer was reported to have come apart and gone down during a Qualifying run. Piloted by Lee Behel, 64, the inflight break-up was fatal, but no one on the ground was hurt and the accident was a long distance away from any spectators or other parties.

The sole GP-5 was originally designed by George Pereira and went through several hands before its completion and initial races in 2010. Originally powered by a small block Chevy, the aircraft was extensively upgraded several years ago and was reported to be producing in excess of some 625HP in recent flights.

As noted by EPI-ENG.com earlier this year, Behel set three new records in Class C-1b with the GP-5. The first was the 3000 meter 'time-to-climb' flight with a recorded time of 2:00, breaking the previous record of 2:20 set by Bruce Bohannon in 1999. The second was the speed over a 3 kilometer course at 377.6 MPH, breaking the previous record of 356.1 set by Jon Sharp in 1998 in the Nemesis-NXT. The third was the speed over a 15 kilometer course at 378.7 MPH, breaking the previous record of 358.8 MPH set by MayCay Beeler in 1989.

Initial Report, 1932 ET, 09.0814: There has been a fatal accident at the Reno Air races. While ANN has learned the pertinent details (at this point), we will be withholding some identifying info until we are sure that the family/next-of-kin of this aviator has been notified.

The one-of-a-kind racer was flying in a Monday qualifying heat race when observers reported to ANN that the plane "came apart" at a very high speed. Officials indicate that this was not a survivable accident and Reno Fire Dept. Chief Michael Hernandez has confirmed the death of the racer and that the plane suffered, “significant structural failure to the aircraft" during an accident that occurred at 1530 local time.

Race officials have not released the name of the pilot pending next-of-kin notifications. The rest of Monday's flying has been cancelled for the remainder of the day. Race officials report that the event will resume at 0800 local time, Tuesday, as planned.

This is the first fatal crash since the tragic accident that befell Jimmy Leeward and his modified P-51 in 2011... where the aircraft suffered an in-flight control failure that put the aircraft into the ground near spectators with fatal results to 10 spectators and injuries to may more.

ANN will update this story ASAP...

FMI: www.airrace.org