Blue Angels Crash in Beaufort, SC neighborhood (1 fatality confirmed by coroner)

CNN.com ^ | 4/21/07 | CNN

[NormsRevenge]

Breaking on CNN a few minutes ago.

1 plane down in neighborhood, status of pilot or occupants unknown at this time.

[SE Mom]

Aren’t they just breathtaking?

[Pukin Dog]

Keep reading.

[JCEccles]

When a pilot loses control of a jet, his job is to GET OUT, so that the millions spent training him/her are not wasted in death.

But as long as he has control, he might choose to stay with it for a few more seconds or minutes, right?

Otherwise the reports out of Vietnam of pilots staying with crippled F-105s or F-4s and nursing the stricken aircraft as far toward the coast (and hopefully to the ocean) as possible would be fiction as well. But they are a matter of record. Duke Cunningham flew his F-4 completely inverted all the way to the ocean before he punched out due to loss of control and battle damage.

You may be a former F-14 pilot, but there are plenty of reports of pilots staying with stricken aircraft as long as they are able--your experience and training notwithstanding.

[null and void]

Married.

Damm. Story of my life...

[dalereed]

“Why are you so friggin rude to people?”

because they deserve it!

Go pound sand!

[migjig]

I just saw the Blue Angels last weekend they were awesome, this is very sad, prayers for the great performers.

[Coldwater Creek]

My ex flyer husband says that he doesn't ever remember an Angel going down with a fatality. Is he correct?

[null and void]

He reported explosion then crash???

[ex-NFO]

“But as long as he has control, he might choose to stay with it for a few more seconds or minutes, right?

Otherwise the reports out of Vietnam of pilots staying with crippled F-105s or F-4s and nursing the stricken aircraft as far toward the coast (and hopefully to the ocean) as possible would be fiction as well. But they are a matter of record. Duke Cunningham flew his F-4 completely inverted all the way to the ocean before he punched out due to loss of control and battle damage.”

I think those cases had more to do with not wanting to spend a decade in the Hanoi Hilton, or summarily killed by villagers.

[dalereed]

“Otherwise the reports out of Vietnam of pilots staying with crippled F-105s or F-4s and nursing the stricken aircraft as far toward the coast (and hopefully to the ocean) as possible would be fiction as well.”

Only to avoid becoming a POW!

[Fawn]

Ok..I got it .....it is upsetting...like a punch in the chest. I love those guys that fly. When I see those jets fly over I get goose bumps.
Anyway...this is strange because a radio DJ....Todd Schnitt...was supposed to fly with these guys maybe 2-3 weeks ago, while in Tampa or Pensacola area? And they postponed his flight due to a problem with a jet. I wonder if it's that jet. Very sad.

[Pukin Dog]

Nobody wants to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. The instinct is to stay with it as long as you can. There is a mental checklist that you train on, which basically boils down to -'can I control this thing or not?' which takes a millisecond to determine. If the aircraft does not follow orders, you gotta get out. If you can control the thing, there is no reason (except fire or incapacitation) to warrant getting out.

In Duke's case, he got out finally, because the fire eventually burned out his controls. Nobody wanted to get out over Vietnam, and Duke had made it out to sea. Crippled does not mean unflyable. And as I said, jets of the Vietnam era could even glide, because they were stable platforms. Even the F-4 could glide a bit with enough speed and altitude.

[agent_delta]

Thanks for your kind words and support.

I am getting more information sent to me every minute.

But - I’ll go post elsewhere.

Have a nice day.

[Jemian]

That’s what the report says. i’ve been following the thread to hear if there is any idea of what went wrong.

[Jet Jaguar]

According to the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels website, Blue Angel #6 is Lieutenant Commander Kevin J. Davis.

http://www.timschreiber.com/2007/04/blue-angels-6-lcdr-kevin-j-davis-dies.html

[Eagle Eye]

Blue Angels in practice

[Pukin Dog]

There have been at least 3 fatal Blues mishaps, two I know of.

There was one over the Golden Gate bridge many, many years ago, there was one right here at Miramar where an A-4 rolled into the ground right in front of a bunch of school children on hand for the Friday demo, and a few more where pilots bailed out and lived.

[Polybius]

You may be a former F-14 pilot, but there are plenty of reports of pilots staying with stricken aircraft as long as they are able--your experience and training notwithstanding.

He addressed that issue in Post 247

[OBXWanderer]

WRONG

[radar101]

http://www.wtoctv.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=1382167&h1=Blue%20Angel%20Jet%20Crash&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=45133&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D6407682&rnd=11428426