Graves: Air show crashes no cause for regulation

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri Congressman Sam Graves says recent fatal crashes at air shows are no reason for greater government regulation of the events.

The U.S. House Republican is a pilot who co-chairs a group of aviation enthusiasts in Congress. He says pilots are fully aware of the risks of flying, and he asserts that there haven't been any spectator fatalities at air shows in more than 60 years.

Graves says air shows are different from air races like the one in Reno, Nev., where 11 people were killed when a plane crashed into a crowd last Friday.

The day after the Reno accident, a pilot died in a crash at an air show in West Virginia. A pilot also was killed in an air show accident last month in Kansas City.