Kellene StockwellChannel 2 News
The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority says any future discussions involving the Air Races will be based on safety.
The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority (RTAA) says it brings in four million people safely through the Reno-Tahoe International and Reno-Stead Airports each year and that is why any discussions about the future of the races will be about safety.
The RTAA says the National Championship Air Races are coordinated by a private organization and that the RTAA only owns and operates the Reno-Stead and Reno-Tahoe International Airports.
It adds the airport's focus going forward will be in close cooperation with the aviation crash investigation experts at the National Transportation Safety Board. Their final report will help guide the future direction of the RTAA regarding the Reno Air Races.
The RTAA Board of Trustees and staff add it wants to "offer our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of anyone impacted by Friday's tragic crash at the air races."
The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority has resumed outgoing operations only at the Reno-Stead Airport.
Investigators spent the weekend mapping the crash scene, collecting evidence and gathering what NTSB member Mark Rosekind called "tremendous amounts of material," including spectator videos and photos.
Pilot Jimmy Leeward was among the ten people killed when his modified WWII-era P-51 Mustang fighter plane, dubbed the Galloping Ghost, crashed nose-first into a section of VIP box seats.
(The Associated Press also contributed to this report.)
