Posted on 04/21/2007 1:42:05 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Not true with the Thunderbirds.
Great Sadness at the loss of one of the best of the best from the class of heroes.
I know the level of skill these pilots have but most crashes are due to pilot error. Good pilots make mistakes too.
The Thunderbirds crashed one a couple of years ago, it was pure pilot error, he was doing a Split S maneuver and didn’t get enough altitude. When you fly by wire that doesn’t work. He got out btw.
Becoming a Blue Angel is the reward for being the very best professional in the air. Flying #6 solo, means that the pilot was one of the very best, period.
The odds of this being pilot error are astronomical against it. The pilot called 'explosion' and they are looking at the engines.
If anyone there is saying these things, they must be FReeper trolls. The DUpes would stab their eyes out before praising a uniformed service member - unless said service member bashed the President.
So, what are you thinking?
Right I’m not thinking.
Something happened [up 200 feet? bird in an engine?]
He dropped, clipped the tree...
The news is just spitting out whatever they hear.
If he had time to clip a tree he had time to eject.
We don’t even know if he ejected or not yet...
The old memory just isn’t what it used to be! Thanks
I feel the same way!!!!
I caution though, that this is only speculation.
deferred maintenance from Congressional foot dragging?
Press release
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Here’s the official U.S. Navy Release. Would suggest that people rely on official sources rather than unofficial reports or speculation as there will be plenty in the days and weeks to come. My thoughts and prayers go out the Blue Angels and family.
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=28989
Blue Angel Jet Crashes at Beaufort Air Show
Story Number: NNS070421-12
Release Date: 4/21/2007 7:51:00 PM
From Navy Office of Information
PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) — An F/A-18A Hornet assigned to the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels) crashed during the final minutes of an air show at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., at approximately 4 p.m. EDT, April 21.
The pilot did not survive.
The pilot of the jet was joining the Delta formation for the final maneuver of the aerial demonstration when the mishap occurred. It was his second year on the team, and first year as a demonstration pilot.
The other five Blue Angel jets were not involved in the incident and landed safely moments later.
The crash occurred approximately three miles outside the air station in the vicinity of Pine Grove Rd. and White Pine Rd. One civilian on the ground reported minor injuries and was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Some houses in the area received damage, the extent of which is unclear at this time.
The name of the pilot is being withheld pending the notification of the next-of-kin.
The cause of the accident is currently under investigation.
On the other hand, there innumerable reported instances of pilots staying with badly damaged aicraft and deliberately pointing the aircraft in a particular direction, perhaps sometimes even away from crowds. Sometimes these pilots even get their crippled aircraft down safely without ever punching out. I suppose it is possible that occasionally a pilot will misjudge how much conrol he still has, will stay with a crippled aircraft too long, and will ride it into the ground. It is very likely these instances that gave rise to the "urban myth" that pilots are taught to sacrifice their own lives to save the lives of innocent people below them. It's an entirely reasonable and innocent misunderstanding.
I will also say this: I was at an airshow at Hill Air Force, Utah, in the 1980s that resulted in the death of a Thunderbird pilot. The T-38 he was flying lost power at low altitude. Before the aircraft crashed it banked slightly toward an open field where there were no crowds. The pilot did not eject although a mishap investigation showed that the egress system was fully functional. He could have punched out in time, but did not.
Draw your own conclusions. Everyone at the airshow did. It wasn't the conclusion that Pukin Dog favors.
Some observations:
1) OF COURSE, this is all speculation but this really sounds like pilot incapacitation (probably due to a bird strike) to me. He appears to have throttled back or lost some power, then crashed on a shallow vector. These guys are flying at 350 knots or more, in close formation — and bird strikes are a constant hazard at low altitude. The The FA-18 flight control system features a four-channel, dual computer control-by-wire system with mechanical stabilator backup, and the Blue Angels have the best MX in the fleet — not likely there was a flight control problem.
2) All these posts about pre- fly-by-wire aircraft flight controls such as the A-4, F-4, Fokker DR-1 or whatever are completely irrelevant.
3) This thread needs more facts and less chest-thumping.
more on the flight controls:
http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/media/approach/vault/articles/2004/0681.htm
Now how would you know that?
You want to check out the Tbird crash?
I’ve been to many air shows and almost every incident was indeed pilot error.
If history is any prcedent, it's likely a pilot with his experience would have stayed with the aircraft in an attempt to miss crashing into a populated area.
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