Fatal crash reminder of danger of air races

"This, unfortunately, is part of air racing," said Jack Walther, chairman of the Reno Air Racing Association.

Richard Roberts, 63, Maybee, Mich., died Thursday when his single-engine Formula One crashed into the yard of a house about a mile northeast of Stead Airport.

It was the 13th fatality in the 35-year history of the air races - the first since 1994, when two pilots died in crashes.

"Fear is definitely in the equation," Formula One pilot Jon Sharp said Friday as competition moved into the weekend's finals.

Planes in some classes reach speeds in excess of 440 mph.

"You have to fear it. You have to respect what you do. ... It is inherently dangerous," Sharp said.

Sally Roberts, wife of the pilot killed in the crash, said her husband died doing what he loved most. He worked as a safety investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration.

"He's been flying all his life," Mrs. Roberts said from their home in Michigan.

"I know he died with a smile on his face. He had more than 17,000 hours in the air," she said.

The crash happened about 9:45 a.m. Thursday, after Roberts finished third in his group's race and was flying back to the Stead airport.

The 9-mile race course avoids nearby homes, but planes take off and land over the residential areas.

The airport tower received no radio calls indicating he was in any trouble before he crashed through a fence and into a back yard near the airport.

"I thought to myself, 'That sounds so close,"' said Roberta Shaw, who was eating breakfast with her husband in their motor home when they heard the plane in distress. "I heard the engine cut out and then start up again."

The 35th running of the air races runs through Sunday.

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