Investigators in Nevada today are continuing to comb the accident site where a stunt plane crashed during an air race in Reno.
Nine people, including the pilot, died when a World War II-era plane crashed into the VIP seats on the tarmac Friday. A total of 69 people were injured.
Witnesses said that as the P-51 Mustang Galloping Ghost piloted by Jimmy Leeward rounded the final clubhouse turn, something dropped off the tail of the plane, and that that may have been what caused the problem.
"I saw the spinner, the wings, the canopy just coming right at us. It hit directly in front of us, probably 50 to 75 feet," Ryan Harris, of Round Mountain, Nev., told The Associated Press. "The next thing I saw was a wall of debris going up in the air. That's what I got splashed with. In the wall of debris I noticed there were pieces of flesh."
National Transportation Safety Board investigators recovered a component in the area where witnesses say they saw something drop.
Marilyn Newton, Pool/AP Photo
Officials said it's unclear whether this is connected to the plane that crashed or another one.
NTSB investigators say they may not have a flight data recorder, but the numerous photos and personal video accounts from spectators will assist officials in the investigation.
"That will be a huge help for us," NTSB spokesman Mark Rosekind said.
In fact, the photos appear to support eyewitness accounts that pieces of the P51's tail started falling off.
"Pictures and video appear to show a piece of the plane was coming off," Rosekind said at a news conference. "A component has been recovered. We have not identified the component or if it even came from the airplane. ... We are going to focus on that."
The tragedy in Reno was another near miss for Commander Mark Kelly, husband of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in the head earlier this year in Tucson.
Kelly was scheduled to fly a P51 similar to the one that crashed at the Reno air show, though he was not going to be racing.
He apparently did not witness the crash.
As investigators work to piece together what caused the crash, officials are also looking into another fatal air show crash this weekend.
A day after the air race crash in Reno, an antique plane crashed at an air show in Martinsburg, W.Va., Saturday.
Pilot John Mangan was flying a 1958 T-28 Warbird when it suddenly crashed after completing an acrobatic move with another T-28. Mangan was killed. No other injuries were reported.
ABC News' David Wright, ABC News Radio and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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