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Blue Angels Crash in Beaufort, SC neighborhood (1 fatality confirmed by coroner)
CNN.com ^ | 4/21/07 | CNN

Posted on 04/21/2007 1:42:05 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

Breaking on CNN a few minutes ago.

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


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; US: South Carolina
KEYWORDS: aerospace; airshow; beaufort; blueangels; crash; kevindavis; navair; navy; spartansixdelta
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To: George W. Bush

I in no way thought you were disparaging them!

I was trying to agree with you and point out that the reality is that flying planes-—in military, not civilian , fashion is a very dangerous job. heck, we even had another small civilian plane go down in Fla the other day.

I just don’t think the Libs get the idea this is a tough job and that causalities are going to happen and even more so in combat.


341 posted on 04/21/2007 4:43:47 PM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (We need a troop surge in New Orleans and Philly!)
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To: Pukin Dog
The blues get the oldest equipment in the fleet...

I recall them in the Eighties. They flew over town and, though the aircraft were kept spotless for the show, I thought they looked outdated way back then too. I suppose the latest stuff is too precious to the Pentagon for civilian events.
342 posted on 04/21/2007 4:43:59 PM PDT by George W. Bush (Just say no to Brady Bunch Republicans.)
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To: Jet Jaguar
I am stealing your tag line.

It's patented!  </kidding>
343 posted on 04/21/2007 4:45:41 PM PDT by George W. Bush (Just say no to Brady Bunch Republicans.)
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To: Pukin Dog

Yes they get the old stuff. F/A-18A, bunos are 161XXX Lot 5 0r 6 which would make them about 1982 or 1983 builds.


344 posted on 04/21/2007 4:47:07 PM PDT by hornetguy
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To: Jet Jaguar

Blue Angel crashes; pilot killed; eyewitness reports home caught fire

Published Sat, Apr 21, 2007

Witness: ‘It fell straight out of the air”

A Blue Angel crashed Saturday afternoon while performing at an air show at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

Authorities say the pilot was killed in the crash. It appears that the plane struck a tall pine tree and traveled another block before crashing near a heavily populated area off of Laurel Bay Road near Shanklin and Pine Grove roads. Parts of the plane hit several houses, according to witnesses.

Reports indicate that it was Blue Angel No. 6 that crashed. The No. 6 plane is piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis of Pittsfield, Mass.

A mile perimeter was established at the intersection of Shanklin and Pine Grove after the wreck and no one was allowed in or out.

It was not immediately known whether anyone else was hurt in the crash, though witnesses said they saw debris on the ground and at least one home on fire.

Emergency crews at the scene of the crash site called for the coroner about 4:20 p.m., indicating that the pilot was killed in the crash.

The Blue Angel crashed about 30 minutes into the unit’s show at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

Jason Keith, of Yemassee, said he was driving west on Laurel Bay Road when he saw the plane crash behind the Food Lion grocery story, which is south of the road.

“Something caught my eye, and all of a sudden I saw a huge black explosion,” he said. “The plane went down, and we watched it for awhile and I didn’t see any parachute or anything. If he had been 400 yards to his right he would have plowed into the road. The other guys were just flying along.”

Keith said he saw a home catch fire.

Tim Stamps, 18, said he was walking down the road, coming back from Food Lion, when he saw the plane circling in the air and smoking.

He also saw the left side of a house covered in debris and the windows are busted out.

Former County Councilman Mark Generales was in his boat on the Beaufort River at the time of the accident.

Generales said the planes came around Lady’s Island and Beaufort, then swung out toward the air base.

“They looked to be doing an approach,” he said. “They had appeared from the distance to be just above the tree line, and everything appeared to be going fine. All of the sudden, one plane seemed to slow down, and it fell straight out of the air.”

Generales said he didn’t see any smoke and didn’t see an ejection. It appeared the plane “just lost power,” he said.

“The plane just disappeared,” Generales said. “And a couple of seconds later, I saw the smoke.”

Robert Bowden also was in the Beaufort River at the time of the crash. “The angle went wrong on it, he dipped below the trees,” he said. “When he dipped out of my eye site, it was clear he went down and the rest of the formation wasn’t aware of it.”

Bowden said he didn’t see the jet hit anything.

Dave Perkins, lives on Pine Grove Road and saw some of the wreckage from the crash site.

He said parts of the plane were everywhere and said there was a hole in the trailer across the street about 10 feet long and 2 feet wide.

“There was a fire on the telephone pole on Shanklin and Pine Grove, and it was ablaze and parts all along Shanklin, across the street,” Perkins said. “The canopy of the plane was across the street from me on fire.”

He said the incident was “like nothing like I've ever felt before.”



Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis

345 posted on 04/21/2007 4:48:45 PM PDT by michigander (The Constitution only guarantees the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.)
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To: Pukin Dog
"Null, you are talking about a different day. Mechanical linkages, with balanced airframes that could actually glide unpowered. That all ended with the F-4."

And herein lies the foundation of our disagreement. You made a statement that seemed to be a universal statement of pilots having no control. Actually your statement had to do with today's planes.

I had a personal reference to a different plane/time (T-38 in 1961-ish). The commendation on his wall was signed by Kennedy.

It seems therefore that we can both be right. I am prepared to declare a truce.

Signed, the non-newbie

346 posted on 04/21/2007 4:49:37 PM PDT by Grammy ("Ms Pelosi is a very difficult person to embarrass." Fred Thompson, 4/11/07)
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To: Pukin Dog
"My broad brush is about the training, period."

It’s alright, I am going to let this go. I honor your service. I just get defensive about this subject. I know it is a new era, FBW and all.

It's just that I know a few real life hero's and I want to keep them. That’s all.

347 posted on 04/21/2007 4:49:40 PM PDT by bluecollarman (Rudys not really a conservative now, he's just a liberal in drag, married to a puppy killer.)
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To: George W. Bush
No, there is a mandated operational life on all military aircraft. The Hornets undergo tremendous stress on the airframes from fleet duty, especially carrier cycles. Once they have reached a certain point, the airframes are either recycled or the Blues get them, strip out what they no longer need, and paint them up. They are actually lighter and faster than the fleet birds.

The Blues were flying A-models long after the Fleet had C's and D's. Once the Blues are done with them, they are destroyed.

348 posted on 04/21/2007 4:50:08 PM PDT by Pukin Dog (Sans Reproache)
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To: George W. Bush
I suppose the latest stuff is too precious to the Pentagon for civilian events.

No, the latest stuff is for defending the country, not for airshows.

That said, I'd really like to see the Blues get the Super Hornet.

349 posted on 04/21/2007 4:50:32 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: George W. Bush

I appreciate all the info given here even if the comments came accross harshly. We’re all upset about this no question.

I understand the comment the shows are not necessary - just entertainment. But these are the ultimate of everything America has stood for in our 200 + years, if we’ve done anything right.... I can’t even imagine how to describe these shows, there’s nothing to compare...

Hard to believe this happened because he clipped a tree.


350 posted on 04/21/2007 4:51:18 PM PDT by Mark2005
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To: Recovering Ex-hippie
Amazingly enough, DU is having a much nicer round of posts than what is going on over *here* (sadly)--similar reactions of shock, and prayers that no one was hurt, then shock and sorrow on discovering the pilot was killed. Several people praising the Blue Angels. !!!
351 posted on 04/21/2007 4:53:35 PM PDT by pillut48 (CJ in TX --Bible Thumper and Proud! RUN, FRED, RUN!!!)
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To: All

Guys, the bottom line is it was most likely pilot error, those planes are old but they keep them maintained very well.


352 posted on 04/21/2007 4:54:15 PM PDT by Moolah
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To: bluecollarman
No harm done on either side, dude. I've got a few heroes of my own to protect. I wasn't disparaging anyone, I was hot under the collar, and lashed out, because nobody should be expecting a flier to be worried about much under those conditions except saving his hyde.

Its all good.

353 posted on 04/21/2007 4:56:03 PM PDT by Pukin Dog (Sans Reproache)
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To: pillut48

Well, that IS good news.


354 posted on 04/21/2007 4:56:48 PM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (We need a troop surge in New Orleans and Philly!)
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To: michigander

Thank you for the update.


355 posted on 04/21/2007 4:56:48 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Just say no to Brady Bunch Republicans.)
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To: mariabush
My ex flyer husband says that he doesn't ever remember an Angel going down with a fatality. Is he correct?

No, I watched one go down in 1974 at an air show at Dulles International Airport near Washington. The pilot punched out, but didn't survive.

356 posted on 04/21/2007 4:58:00 PM PDT by Interesting Times (ABCNNBCBS -- yesterday's news.)
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To: Moolah
Guys, the bottom line is it was most likely pilot error

Exceedingly unlikely, and you would know that if you knew the skill level of these guys. These are old, tired airframes. Well maintained or not, things break.

357 posted on 04/21/2007 4:58:14 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: doorgunner69
Blues wont get the Super Hornet, ever.

The older models are much faster, and more agile. I remember when the A-4s were going out, there were a lot of us who hoped to see Tomcats up there, which would have been the silliest thing in the world, but we wanted to see it anyway.

The Super's are the front line now, and nobody is going to use them for shows, when they are busy with operational duties.

358 posted on 04/21/2007 5:00:19 PM PDT by Pukin Dog (Sans Reproache)
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To: Mark2005

I don’t know if I can express what I want to or not, but military air shows, graduations, parades. It gets to you. We see who we are and the finest our country has to offer. It’s not entertainment but a kind of a revival of patriotism IMO.


359 posted on 04/21/2007 5:01:16 PM PDT by CindyDawg
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To: FreedomGuru

Amen to your post.


360 posted on 04/21/2007 5:02:16 PM PDT by amom
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