Oak Harbor resident Ralph Corbin is lucky to be alive.

Corbin, his son and his nephew had front row seats in the same VIP box as the former Bellingham couple killed last Friday when a World War II P-51 Mustang crashed at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev.

According to Corbin, they had left the box shortly before the accident to head to the hospitality hangar. George and Wendy Hewitt, former residents of Bellingham and members of the local group Cascade Warbirds, were in box B-40 when the plane slammed into the ground.

“It happened in just a matter of seconds,” said Corbin, who saw the whole incident. “He made a steep climb, rolled over like he should, but he didn’t have enough momentum to keep it going; he must have lost too much air speed.”

All that was left of the VIP box where Corbin had been sitting was a crater, he said.

A former Air Force pilot, Corbin said it appeared to him pilot Jimmy Leeward was having control problems, but that he was probably trying to steer the plane away from spectators.

“There is runway that goes directly out from the stands,” he said. “I think that was his aim.”

While the accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, Corbin said it appeared the left stabilizer trim tab, which would help stabilize the aircraft, was missing, causing the plane to vibrate. The vibration would have made the plane difficult to control, according to Corbin.

“Lord knows what happened,” Corbin said. “With the thing vibrating like that, who knows what else could have broken loose.”

Following the crash, Corbin said people “kind of held their own and pitched in to help.”

Corbin, who flies a Beech T-34 at the Whidbey Island Navy Flying Club on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, said the P-51 involved in the crash had been modified for racing.

“They chop off a good portion of the outer wing and use them for racing,” he said. “They’re pretty good airplanes.”

As of press time, the death toll from the accident stood at 10. The Hewitts had moved from Bellingham to Fort Mohave, Ariz. just over a year ago. Washington resident Greg Morcom, 47, of Marysville was also killed.

The air races have been held in Reno every September for the past 47 years. Corbin said he has attended the event for the past five years, along with several other Cascade Warbirds members.