The Bell Law Firm, PLLC

Two crashes at air shows in the past week have sparked debate about the safety of the events. Most pilots involved in the shows, like the 54-year-old Air Force veteran who died in West Virginia over the weekend, appreciate the risk of stunt flying and races. Spectators, however, likely do not understand the risk of injury sitting in the bleachers.

Only the pilot died in the Martinsburg accident. Eleven people have died, and scores more have been treated for injuries from the Reno crash, though. The pilot was the 20th pilot to die in the history of that show.

Fans caught the crash on video. Those images of the plane disintegrating on impact and descriptions of the scene following the crash will linger in the minds of people who weren't there.

People at the show that day had a thousand-yard stare in television interviews. They had the same look on their faces that GIs had at Guadalcanal.

For air shows like these, pilots adapt vintage aircraft to increase speed and handling. In Reno, for example, the plane that crashed couldn't have reached those speeds -- estimated at 400 mph when it crashed -- without a larger engine and improved maneuverability. To accommodate the more powerful engine, the pilot had extended the plane's nose; for maneuverability, he had shortened each wing by several feet.

Low-altitude stunt flying itself poses risks to spectators and pilots. Factor in the plane's structural changes, and the margin for error is greatly reduced.

It is the danger, though, that draws the fans.

Source: Wall Street Journal, "Air Shows Draw Scrutiny," Jim Carlton, Tamara Audi and Andy Pasztor, Sept. 19, 2011