Death Toll Rises In Reno

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Federal investigators are on the scene of a Reno air race crash that killed the pilot and two spectators and injured more than 50.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Terry Williams told The Associated Press Saturday that a team has arrived from Washington to join regional officials.

He says it's too early to say what caused the crash.

Organizers of the National Championship Air Races earlier said it appears a mechanical failure with the P-51 Mustang was to blame.

Witness and video accounts show that the World War II vintage plane suddenly pitched upward, rolled and did a nose-dive toward the crowded grandstand.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reported that prior to Friday's crash, 17 people had been killed at the air races since their start 1964.

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