Pilot unhurt in rough landing at Reno Air Races
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A pilot made a rough emergency landing at the Reno National Championship Air Races but escaped unhurt.
Race officials say Matt Jackson of Van Nuys, Calif., radioed in a May Day because of a problem with the landing gear in his vintage World War II fighter during qualifying heats about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Unlimited class at Reno-Stead Airport.
Fire trucks and emergency crews manned a runway on the far side of the course away from the grandstand as Jackson brought his Hawker Sea Fury called "Furias" down slowly. But race spokeswoman Valerie Miller-Moore says his right gear collapsed. His plane slid off the runway and spun around in the sagebrush, sending up a cloud of dust.
Miller-Moore says Jackson is fine, but he did wreck the paint job on the plane. Qualifying has resumed.
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