Third fatal crash takes place at Reno National Championship Air Races

One pilot killed and another injured in the collision of airplanes at the Reno National Championship Air Races.

Photo: Third fatal crash takes place at Reno National Championship Air Races

Gary Hubler, 51, was killed in the crash shortly after 9:30 a.m. at Stead Airport just north of Reno, race officials said. It was the 18th fatality in the 44-year history of the air races and prompted the suspension of the competition for the day.

The pilot of the other plane involved in the crash was identified as Jason Somes. He was rushed to a hospital and his condition was not immediately known. Two judges on the ground also were injured.

Two pilots were killed in separate accidents at the event on Tuesday and Thursday.

In a crash Thursday in Washington state, a single-engine plane registered to an oil and gas exploration company in Montana went down and burned near Burlington in the state's northwest, killing all three people on board.

The A-36 Beechcraft Bonanza went down on a flight from Havre, Montana, to Skagit Regional Airport about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Seattle, federal officials said.

The pilot, John O. Brown, 60, was on his second landing approach when the plane dropped off radar, said Kurt Anderson, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator.

Also killed were passengers Randall McPherson, 59, and Christopher Schafer, 25.

The plane was registered to Textana Inc.