Fiery Crash at Reno Air Races Leaves Pilot Dead, Remaining Events Canceled
Lyle Setter/Icon Sportswire via Getty A plane at the Reno Air Races in 2018
A pilot died during the Air Races in Reno, Nevada, when the plane he was flying crashed mid-race.
On Sunday night, the Reno Air Racing Association confirmed that a "fatal incident" occurred during the third lap of the event's Jet Gold Race and races for the remainder of the event, which were set to end Sunday, were canceled.
"We can confirm that during the Jet Gold Race on the third lap there was a fatal incident at Outer Pylon 5 today," the Reno Air Racing Association wrote in a statement shared on social media. "There will be an investigation conducted by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration.) All other pilots landed safely and race operations for 2022 have been suspended. We express our deepest sympathies to the pilot's family and friends as well as racers and race fans who make up our September family."
The plane involved — a single-engine Aero L-29 Delfín — crashed around 3:45 p.m. local time behind a residential area in Reno, the FAA said in a preliminary statement. Only the pilot was aboard the plane.
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Reno Air Racing Association CEO Fred Telling said at a press conference that the plane crashed near a pylon used to mark flight paths for the event, according to NBC News.
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office in Reno wrote on Twitter just after 4 p.m. local time Sunday that it was responding to the crash and asked people to avoid the area. The sheriff's office confirmed that one person had died in a Twitter post at 7:15 p.m.
"WCSO detectives are currently working the scene with the Medical Examiner's Office," the sheriff's office wrote. "No names will be released until notification of next of kin."
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The Washoe County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Monday.
Telling said Sunday that the jet was in the final race for the jet class at the event Sunday when it crashed during the race's third lap, according to NBC News.
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While the pilot has not yet been identified, Telling said the Reno Air Racing Association and the "September family" of people who attend the annual event "express our deepest sympathies to the pilot's family and friends," according to NBC News. The FAA said in its preliminary statement that neither it nor the NTSB identifies people involved in aircraft accidents.
A YouTube live stream captured the crash as it happened before the feed was cut moments later, according to the New York Post. The video has been removed from the Reno Air Race's YouTube page.
