Video memory cards and equipment recovered from the wreckage of Jimmy Leeward’s P-51 at the National Championship Air Races last month in Reno were too badly damaged to be of any help in the investigation of the crash, the NTSB said Friday. However, a card retrieved from flight data equipment and telemetry received by the ground crew of the Galloping Ghost are still being examined as investigators piece together the five seconds between a normal home-stretch pylon turn and a high-speed dive that ended with a horrific crash that killed 11, including Leeward, and injured scores of others. “NTSB investigators continue to review the dozens of videos and hundreds of photographs provided to them by spectators at the air race,” the board said in a news release.
Investigators continue to examine the left elevator trim tab to determine how its departure from the aircraft affected the chain of events. The role of the trim tab has been the subject of much debate on various blogs and forums and some have concluded its loss was a consequence and not a cause. It will, of course, be months and perhaps years before the NTSB reaches its final conclusions on the tragedy.
