Vintage plane crash at air race kills nine and leaves dozens injured

Air crash investigators were yesterday examining how a 74-year-old pilot lost control of a Second World War aircraft leading to a crash which killed nine people and injured dozens more at an air race in Nevada.

The vintage P-51 Mustang disintegrated when it hit the ground on Friday at the National Championship Air Races near Reno. Organisers said a mechanical fault was probably to blame for the accident but were awaiting the results of an official investigation. Fifty-four people were taken to hospital, some in a critical condition, said Mike Houghton, the head of the Reno Air Racing Association and chief executive of the event.