A World War II-era fighter plane flown by a veteran Hollywood stunt pilot plunged Friday into the edge of the grandstands during a popular air race, killing three people, injuring more than 50 spectators and creating a horrific scene strewn with smoking debris.

The plane, piloted by 74-year-old Jimmy Leeward, spiraled out of control without warning and appeared to disintegrate upon impact. Bloodied bodies were spread across the area as people tended to the victims and ambulances rushed to the scene.

Authorities were investigating the cause, but an official with the event said there were indications that mechanical problems were to blame.

A team of federal safety investigators on Saturday descended on the site of a deadly plane crash that killed at least three people and injured more than 50 at a Nevada air race show whose motto is "fly low, fly fast."

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration traveled to join colleagues already working on site Friday night when the vintage World War Two fighter plane crashed near the grandstand at Reno Stead Airport.

The pilot, Jimmy Leeward, 74, was among those killed when his P-51 Mustang dubbed the "Galloping Ghost" crashed into a box seat area in front of the main grandstand, said Mike Draper, spokesman for the 48th Annual National Championship Air Races, also known as the Reno Air Races.

"It was like a war zone where the box seats were," said Draper, who said the additional NTSB and FAA investigators arrived on Saturday at the site.

A WWII-era plane has crashed into the box seat area at an air race event in Reno, Nevada, killing at least three people and injuring more than 50. The plane spiralled out of control and came down into crowds in the stands, disintegrating upon impact. Eyewitnesses reported scores of blooded bodies at the scene after the tragedy occurred.

The injured have been rushed to hospital. Out of 56 people hurt, 15 are said to be in a critical condition. Mike Houghton, president and CEO of the Reno Air Races, told a news conference that pilot Jimmy Leeward had died in the crash, Associated Press reports. The 74-year-old veteran Hollywood stunt pilot was the owner of the Leeward Air Ranch Racing Team and a well-known racing pilot.

Leeward's "Galloping Ghost" plane was a P-51 Mustang fighter -- a class of plane that can fly at speeds in excess of 500 mph (800kph). Houghton said there appeared to be a "problem with the aircraft that caused it to go out of control".

Five deaths and multiple injuries were reported after a tractor trailer crashed into a Amtrak train on Friday near Reno, according to Nevada Department of Transportation.

The driver of the truck is confirmed dead and 3-to-4 more on-board the train are dead, said Nevada State Trooper Dan Lopez. Bodies are being recovered from the wreck and an exact head count of all on-board has not been confirmed, he added.

Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno say they received nine injured passengers from the Amtrak crash. And of those nine, two are in critical condition, four in serious, and three in fair condition, according to Dan Davis of Renown.

There was no word on the ages or genders of the patients. Davis noted that the hospital may be receiving 4-to-6 more throughout the night.

Friday at about 11:20 a.m. the Amtrak’s California Zephyr train carrying 204 passengers and 14 crew members running from Chicago-to-Emeryville, Calif. collided with a tractor trailer on US-95.

This afternoon we received a call from a viewer who said a business near downtown Reno was flying a Mexican flag above an American flag... which is in fact illegal.

RENO, Nev. -- A group of Hispanic people in Reno have called for a three-day boycott of all businesses in northern Nevada after a federal raid in which 54 suspected illegal workers were arrested. The group of about 60 people also called for a strike by al