Reno air race survivor says he saw plane coming and ran
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Sitting in a wheelchair and assisted by nurses at a Sunday afternoon news conference at Reno’s Renown Regional Medical Center, Larson said he was grateful to survive, escaping with a severed Achilles tendon, a severe leg wound, a dislocated shoulder and head injuries that required a volley of stitches.
Larson, 59, a telecommunications entrepreneur, was standing near pit row in box No. 50 and talking to a fellow fan when he heard the audience groan and followed their eyes to the sky. There, he watched the Galloping Ghost suddenly pitch upward.
“The plane was above us to the left and I could see it,” he said. “You kind of get a feeling, the way I was looking at it, that there’s something wrong. It just looked like there was lack of control or something was wrong.’
Within seconds, the P-51 Mustang was headed straight for him.
“A lot of the guys hit the deck,” he said. “I ran.
“A second later, the thing crashed right behind me. All I remember is trying to run. I saw stuff coming and that’s the last I remember.”
Debris hit his head, knocking him unconscious, he said. Larson was evacuated on the same military helicopter he had admired in an earlier demonstration at the event. “It was surrealistic that you’d see something like that,” he said. “I’m really lucky to be here.... It makes you appreciate to be alive.”
Larson seemed in good spirits, saying the last few days had been a whirlwind.
Dressed in a hospital gown, he was still wearing his red pit-row bracelet from the air races and cracking jokes about his rehab.
“I’m kind of a macho guy,” he said. “I’m not crazy about using the walker.”
A self-described “risk-taker” who flies hang-gliders and rides motorcycles, Larson said this was his third year at the air races and he looked forward to returning.
“I don’t think they should cancel it. It’s a great community event,” he said. “There’s crashes and there’s things that happen and there’s planes that don’t work, and obviously this was a real tragedy, but I think it’s a great community event that I enjoy.”
He added: “I would intend to go as many times as I’m invited.”
Sitting next to her husband, Sherry Larson lauded the performance of emergency responders.
“They told me the plane hit 20 feet away from where he was standing. It was going 500 mph,” she said. “For him to be alive is amazing.”
Larson’s bravado survived intact.
Full coverage: Deadly crash at Reno air show
“Now I know if this ever happens again, hit the deck, don’t run,” he said.
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--Michael J. Mishak in Reno
PHOTO: Ed Larson describes the air race crash during a news conference at a Reno hospital. CREDIT: AP Photo / Paul Sakuma