In a heart-stopping moment at the Reno National Championship Air Races, US stunt pilot Thom Richard narrowly escaped disaster when a mid-air collision nearly cost him his life. The dramatic incident, captured on his cockpit camera, serves as a stark reminder of how fragile life can be—and how mere inches can determine the difference between survival and catastrophe.
As Richard prepared to take off in his Formula One aircraft, a technical glitch grounded him. With his plane stalled on the runway, he made the quick decision to shut down the engine and open the canopy, signaling to race officials that he was out of the competition. Unbeknownst to him, this choice would thrust him into a terrifying encounter.
The cockpit camera, pointed directly at Richard’s face, recorded his calm demeanor as he glanced to the side, unaware of the chaos unfolding. In the background, other planes roared down the runway, their engines screaming as they launched into the sky. Suddenly, a shadow loomed—a fellow competitor’s aircraft was hurtling toward him, its wing on a collision course with the back of Richard’s head.
In a split-second reflex, Richard ducked just as the speeding plane’s wing slammed into his aircraft. The impact was explosive, sending his plane spinning 180 degrees in a violent whirl. The other aircraft’s landing gear was obliterated, its wheel severed, and its propeller carved three deep gashes into Richard’s right wing. The collision sheared off part of the wingtip and left a gaping hole in the fuselage, while the other plane skidded to a stop hundreds of feet away, its own wing and gear mangled.
Describing the harrowing moment on YouTube, Richard recounted the confusion as a flagman frantically waved from the runway, signaling something was terribly wrong. “The aircraft to my right started rolling, and seconds later, the number six and eight aircraft flew by me on either side,” he said. “All I could do was hope the number seven aircraft would clear me.” But it didn’t.
The force of the impact was staggering. “The other plane’s left leading edge shaved off the top of my vertical stabilizer and skimmed the turtle-deck, hitting my right hand holding the canopy at over 60 miles per hour,” Richard explained. “The landing gear blew a hole in my plane’s gull-wing center section and broke clean off his aircraft. The propeller sliced my right wing like a blade, and the impact spun me around like a carnival ride at warp speed.”
4 The collision span Richard’s plane round 180 degrees and severed his wingCredit: YouTube / Thom Richard
4 Astonishingly Thom only injured his hand in the horror smash and the second pilot sustained no injuries
Miraculously, both pilots walked away from the wreckage. Richard sustained a badly injured hand, but the other pilot emerged unscathed. Reflecting on the incident, Richard expressed a profound sense of gratitude. “I’m not the slightest bit upset over the accident,” he said. “I consider myself a very lucky man. Another four feet to the left, and I would have been minced meat. A busted hand is a small price to pay. It’ll heal.”
The chilling footage and Richard’s calm reflection underscore the razor-thin margin between life and death in the high-stakes world of air racing. In a sport where split-second decisions and sheer luck can mean everything, this incident is a sobering testament to the fragility of life—and the resilience of those who dare to chase the skies.