On Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:51:22 -0400, vaughn wrote:

I've heard that claim in regards to several airshow accidents and I seldom
believe it. If a plane is out of control, you simply can't control it, so
therefore you can't control where it crashes. From the tiny bit of video I saw,
that plane appeared far beyond any control from the pilot. I concede that in
cases of engine failure or fire there may be room for some pilot heroics.

Concur. OOC is, by definition, NIC of the PIC.

Airshows are designed to keep the aircraft's vectors parallel to, or away from
the crowd. That's done for a good reason! It means that any crash should miss
the crowd. The recent Reno accident shows what can happen when you have vectors
towards the crowd.. .

Concur and do not concur. Reno was a race (not an AS) however an
argument can be made that vectors could be arranged with a greater
degree of safety.

I have witnessed two airshow accidents. Both happened so quickly and so close
to the ground that the pilot couldn't possible have chosen his point of impact.
(One was a loop that was apparently started too close to the ground. The
pullout point ended up slightly below ground....fatal. The other was a Cri-Cri
that lost an engine and then directional control on takeoff. It nearly ended up
in the crowd.)

We simply do not need races and shows to be less vigilant or less
truthful. I would hope that literary incompetence and not determined
misdirection by the Chinese involved can be blamed in this particular
case.