Lee Behel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wesley Behel |
| Died | 8 September 2014 Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Aircraft crash due to structural failure |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Known for | Racing aircraft |
Wesley "Lee" Behel was an American aviator and air racing champion.[1] He was the creator and, at the time of his death the president, of the "Sport Class"[2] a group of racing airplanes designed for planes under 1000 cubic inches in engine size that participate in the Reno Air Races each year in September, as well as a retired Lt. Colonel in the Nevada Air National Guard.[3]
Behel joined the Nevada Air National Guard in 1972, where he flew several aircraft, including the F-101 Voodoo, the F4 Phantom in which he accumulated 2,500 hours of flight time, as well as the RF-4C reconnaissance aircraft.[4] He retired from the Guard in 1996.
In 2000, he first flew in the AirVenture Cup Race, a cross-country open-circuit air race, with his ten-year-old son Jay on board. He would fly that race fifteen straight years.[4]
On 8 September 2014, Behel perished while flying Sweet Dreams, a custom built one of a kind[5] aircraft that was powered by a Chevrolet small-block engine that had been adapted for use in this specific aircraft.[6]
The crash took place in the north end of the race course when the plane Behel was flying suffered a "catastrophic mechanical failure" at 3:16 p.m.[7] According to witnesses, the aircraft took off and flew to enter the course. Around the 5th outer pylon, in an area of the course known as "High-G Ridge",[8] sections of the right wing broke away from the airplane, which then rolled sharply to the right and impacted the ground.[9] The aircraft was estimated to be traveling nearly 400 miles per hour (640 km/h) and was no more than 100 feet (30 m) off the ground when the failure occurred.
The crash occurred during a qualifying heat early in the 2014 Reno Air Race program and will be investigated by the NTSB as well as the FAA. Behel was a certified fighter jet pilot who also enjoyed flying high-performance single-engine race planes.[1] Behel had once owned Steven's Creek Porsche/Audi in Santa Clara, a business that he had sold in 2012.[8]
In April 2014, Behel had set three class world records in the same aircraft: Speed over a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) course, 3 km time-to-climb, and speed over a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) course.[4] Additionally, at the time of his death he held the world speed records for the RF-4C in 100 and 500 km closed courses.[4]
References
- 1 2 Jack Kane; EPI Inc. "GP-5: Successful V8-Powered Reno Racer".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Lee Behel - Sport Class Air Racing". Sport Class Air Racing.
- ↑ Cheryl Goodson. "Reno Championship Air Races - Updated Statement from the National Championship Air Races". Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
- 1 2 3 4 "Reno Crash Claims Pilot Lee Behel". eaa.org. Experimental Aircraft Association. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ "Pilot Lee Behel Killed At Reno Air Races In One-Of-A-Kind Aircraft". Business Insider. 9 September 2014.
- ↑ "Lee Behel, Sport Class Founder, Dies in Reno Crash". Flying Magazine. 9 September 2014.
- ↑ "Plane crash kills 1 during qualifying at Reno Air Races". USA TODAY. 8 September 2014.
- 1 2 "San Jose's Sports Class Pilot Lee Behel involved in fatal accident during National Championship Air Races at Reno-Stead Airport". ABC7 San Francisco.
- ↑ "Preliminary NTSB Report". NTSB.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.