Well Done AP Story on Reno Tragedy
Other than one phrase in the first graf, this is a pretty well done story about the Reno tragedy.
…video of the scene shows paramedics, police and spectators attending to the wounded with a control that seems contradictory to the devastation.
Officials and those in the tightly-knit air racing community credit not only a detailed plan for just such a crash, but the type of people at the event: pilots, veterans and others accustomed to dealing with a high-pressure situation.
Doctors, nurses and military veterans from the crowd volunteered their services to emergency crews, said Reno Fire Battalion Chief Tim Spencer, a 29-year veteran who has worked at the air races for 27 years. Those without medical skills helped firefighters transport the injured.
“It wasn’t uncommon to see one firefighter and three people in civilian clothes carrying a litter to the proper area” for evacuation, Tim Spencer said. “Everybody pulled together perfectly and worked side by side.”
Read the whole thing here.
FWIW, the first graf phrase I didn’t like was: “the nation’s deadliest air racing disaster”. As if there had been others like this. There’s never been an accident like this in the US.
And of course, the headline that a 10th person has died from this tragedy is so so sad.
That exactly describes the scene. It was incredible how quickly and calmly it went. I seriously believe that at least a small part of what kept it from turning into total mayhem was that the stands were filled with pilots. I read on the Reno air racing site that about 30% of those in attendance are pilots. How many of us had/have instructors that tell us that if anything goes wrong in flight, freak out afterward? Fly long enough and you’ll have more than one incident requiring you to keep your cool.