Pilot killed at Reno Air Races ID’d
RENO — Authorities have identified a 64-year-old retired Air Force fighter pilot from California who was killed in a plane crash while trying to qualify for the Reno National Championship Air Races.
Lee Behel of San Jose died Monday afternoon when his GP-5 went down at Stead Airport north of Reno during a qualifying heat, race officials said.
Nobody else was injured.
Race organizers said Behel was a former sport class champion and a longtime air race pilot.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Organizers planned to conduct qualifying heats as scheduled on Tuesday.
In 2011, a plane crashed in a grandstand at the air races and killed 11 people. Dozens more were injured.
