Shockwave jet truck crash

Others have noted that the left rear tire exploded, taking the fender with it.
 
First thoughts are engine let go, chute was pulled, tire shredded, sideways skid to rollover sequence. Nothing much one could do. Rest In Peace.
 
What I saw was a explosion set off as an effect but it was too soon and he had to drive through it during the shutdown causing his truck and shuts to catch fire. He was shut down and under control until he was forced to drive through a big ole fire from the explosion.

I have watched that truck live years earlier with a guy named Bob Motz who drove it who I believe burned himself real bad in another accident. That truck puts on a great show. RIP to the driver. First time I saw it it had 3 jet engines on it, then it was changed to one big engine.

Watch this video...
 
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Gary Ward said:
What I saw was a explosion set off as an effect
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Those explosions are NEVER on the runway itself - always set off to the side (I've been on the field on the side of the runway during shows like Tora as a photographer). The timing of the pyro explosion literally has NOTHING to do with the crash, except that it was supposed to take place during the spectacle.
 
Craig said:
At least one video I've seen shows what appears to be a an uncontained engine failure well prior to reaching the pyro shot.
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Agreed. Chute was deployed, and then an explosion of some sort prior to reaching the pyro. RIP.
 
I remember first seeing Les Shockley who built the original Shockwave I think at Norwalk, Ohio in the mid to late 1980s. I remember Motz, though I don’t think I ever saw him run the truck; Maybe once? Sad.

Not that it would’ve made a difference, but the response time of the emergency crews seemed slow. I’ve seen this often at races that are less than the top tier of their sport. NASCAR and NHRA are what I’m familiar with, and that’s the level of backup emergency service and response time that should be the gold standard. That’s difficult and expensive for all but the highest grossing venues.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I remember first seeing Les Shockley who built the original Shockwave I think at Norwalk, Ohio in the mid to late 1980s. I remember Motz, though I don’t think I ever saw him run the truck; Maybe once? Sad.

Not that it would’ve made a difference, but the response time of the emergency crews seemed slow. I’ve seen this often at races that are less than the top tier of their sport. NASCAR and NHRA are what I’m familiar with, and that’s the level of backup emergency service and response time that should be the gold standard. That’s difficult and expensive for all but the highest grossing venues.
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Good memory you have 455 Bravo.

I probably saw Les more than once now that you bring him up. The IHRA had races called night of fire if I remember right? Seen many jets at the races, well I saw some. Most of the time we were working on the car while the jets were putting on a show.

The first cars I saw at the drag strip was a jet at Edgewater here in town around 1975. I was neighbors with the fAstest man on water with a jet boat. He used run it and you could hear it from miles away.
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Condolences to the family. I really hope Gryder leaves this one alone ...
 
I remember seeing this truck at an airshow in the early 90s. It had 3 engines at that time.

One video shows what appears to be treads off of the left side rear tires flying in the air.
 
Zeldman said:
I remember seeing this truck at an airshow in the early 90s. It had 3 engines at that time.

One video shows what appears to be treads off of the left side rear tires flying in the air.
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I've watched this truck and the stunt before. It was impressive!

The video appears to show the engine exploding which caused the tire(s) on the left rear side to blow out. The truck swerves out of control and begins to roll over. A horrible way to enter into eternity. If there's anything good about it (it's not) it's the fact that it was over very quickly. :(
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I remember first seeing Les Shockley who built the original Shockwave I think at Norwalk, Ohio in the mid to late 1980s. I remember Motz, though I don’t think I ever saw him run the truck; Maybe once? Sad.

Not that it would’ve made a difference, but the response time of the emergency crews seemed slow. I’ve seen this often at races that are less than the top tier of their sport. NASCAR and NHRA are what I’m familiar with, and that’s the level of backup emergency service and response time that should be the gold standard. That’s difficult and expensive for all but the highest grossing venues.
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The response was slow. First responders have 60 seconds to be anywhere within the box and actively working the site.

I worked an airshow last weekend and prior to the first day the emergency services had to conduct a drill. To make sure it’s spontaneous they’re not told when or where it will be. One of the airport workers went out passed airshow center into the sticks and set off a smoke marker during performer practice.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Not that it would’ve made a difference, but the response time of the emergency crews seemed slow. I’ve seen this often at races that are less than the top tier of their sport. NASCAR and NHRA are what I’m familiar with, and that’s the level of backup emergency service and response time that should be the gold standard. That’s difficult and expensive for all but the highest grossing venues.
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Your comment evoked the memory of Eddie Andreini, who died at Travis AFB in May 2014 when his Stearman descended on to the runway inverted at show center while attempting an inverted ribbon cut. His aircraft had been fitted with a full canopy, and there was to be no escape without help. The Travis AFB ARFF trucks were parked in the firehouse about 1½ miles from the crash site, and no firemen were dressed in gear at the time of the call.

The crash was rather mild, and Eddie appeared to be uninjured. There was initially no fire, but fuel from the ruptured tank located in front of the cockpit and behind the engine ignited after 35-40 seconds. As the flames spread and minutes ticked by, the airshow commander in the tower repeatedly urged the fire dispatcher to speed up the response.

The first fire truck arrived at the crash site 4:14 after the initial call. It was a pickup cab and chassis type pumper, and it took another 2:30 for the firemen to set up hoses and begin fighting the fire. By that time, Andreini had succumbed to smoke inhalation.

Four years after the crash, the Air Force settled with Andreini's heirs for $1.4 million. They denied any responsibility for his death, but agreed in the future to have trucks manned with dressed out crews parked at show center.

Watching this video of Eddie in a P-51 over Half Moon Bay is a good way to honor him. He was an exceptionally talented airshow performer.

 
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3393RP said:
Your comment evoked the memory of Eddie Andreini, who died at Travis AFB in May 2014 when his Stearman descended on to the runway inverted at show center while attempting an inverted ribbon cut. His aircraft had been fitted with a full canopy, and there was no escape without help. The Travis AFB ARFF trucks were parked in the firehouse about 1½ miles from the crash site, and no firemen were dressed in gear at the time of the call.

The crash was rather mild, and Eddie appeared to be uninjured. There was initially no fire, but fuel from the ruptured tank located in front of the cockpit and behind the engine ignited after 35-40 seconds. As the flames spread and minutes ticked by, the airshow commander in the tower repeatedly urged the fire dispatcher to speed up the response.

The first fire truck arrived at the crash site 4:14 after the initial call. It was a pickup cab and chassis type pumper, and it took another 2:30 for the firemen to set up hoses and begin fighting the fire. By that time, Andreini had succumbed to smoke inhalation.

Four years after the crash, the Air Force settled with Andreini's heirs for $1.4 million. They denied any responsibility for his death, but agreed in the future to have trucks manned with dressed out crews parked at show center.

Watching this video of Eddie in a P-51 over Half Moon Bay is a good way to honor him. He was an exceptionally talented airshow performer.

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Such a huge loss. Eddie Andreini was a fixture at NorCal airshows for decades. I only got to meet him briefly - what a good guy, smiling and a bundle of energy.

Hopefully some careers at Travis were ended over the incompetence of the airshow staff. There should have been at least three fire engines on site - one at each end of the box and one near the center - fully staffed with firefighters in turnouts, engine idling, rolling within 15 seconds of receiving an alarm - plus a manned forklift to pull an in erted plane off the pilot.

As mentioned above, the ICAS standard is on scene within 60 seconds of a mishap.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I remember first seeing Les Shockley who built the original Shockwave I think at Norwalk, Ohio in the mid to late 1980s. I remember Motz, though I don’t think I ever saw him run the truck; Maybe once? Sad.

Not that it would’ve made a difference, but the response time of the emergency crews seemed slow. I’ve seen this often at races that are less than the top tier of their sport. NASCAR and NHRA are what I’m familiar with, and that’s the level of backup emergency service and response time that should be the gold standard. That’s difficult and expensive for all but the highest grossing venues.
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NASCAR (unless it has improved in recent years) has no organized CFR crews. Those are provided by the individual tracks and can range from anywhere from an elite EMS/Fire to a bunch of good ol' boys on a fire truck.
NHRA does have a traveling "safety safari" which is top notch.
 
flyingron said:
NASCAR (unless it has improved in recent years) has no organized CFR crews. Those are provided by the individual tracks and can range from anywhere from an elite EMS/Fire to a bunch of good ol' boys on a fire truck.
NHRA does have a traveling "safety safari" which is top notch.
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NASCAR and IndyCar now have full time medical crews that are provided by American Medical Response. I can't speak about NASCAR regarding crash assistance personnel, but IndyCar has a full time trained response team that includes specially outfitted 3/4 ton pickups with a firefighting package, hydraulic extraction tools, fluid absorbents, and other gear. The trucks are taken to each race in two 53' transporters pulled by Class 8 tractors. I think NASCAR still uses locally sourced vehicles and crews for that function, but I'm not sure.

IndyCar also has a full time doctor trained in trauma medicine that travels to each race. He is located in a SUV that has medical equipment on board, and can reach the site of a crash within a minute or two. There are also two or three AMR ambulances and a staffed EMS helicopter at each race.
 
Yes, IndyCar and NHRA have always been pretty proactive as series. NASCAR tends to defer to the local tracks whch can vary from really great places like Michigan and other Indy tracks to the Humpy Wheeler and ISC stuff down south which are a bunch of rubes.
 
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