Five air show tragedies

Farnborough Airshow, 1952 A prototype de Havilland DH-110 was flying above a large crowd at this English air show when it broke through the sound barrier and broke into pieces. The plane’s two engines and metal frame cascaded down on the people below, and in the end 31 people were dead, including the pilot and on-board observer. Ramstein, 1988 A collection of Italian Air Force planes were flying above this U.S. air base in West Germany when three of the jets collided during a manoeuvre that required them to pass close to each other at high speed. The resulting crash sent an inferno into a crowd of onlookers, resulting in 67 deaths on the ground. Three pilots were also killed. Canadian National Exhibition, 1995 The most recent tragedy during the CNE’s Canadian International Air Show occurred 20 years ago, when a British Nimrod warplane lost power and plunged into Lake Ontario. Seven crew members from the Royal Air Force were killed. Sknyliv, 2002 Considered the worst air show disaster ever, a Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet lost control while performing a low-altitude roll for a crowd of 10,000 near Lviv, Ukraine. The two air force pilots ejected and their plane hit the ground and exploded into a section of spectators, killing 77 people, including 28 children. Reno Air Races, 2011 A P-51D Mustang plane, nicknamed the Galloping Ghost, lost control during a race in Nevada and plummeted into a field of spectators. Eleven people were killed, including the Ghost’s pilot. Alex Ballingall