Thunderbird crash!!!!

[N505AF]

I was at the airshow my bases was haveing today an one of the thunderbirds went down the pilot is still alive but the plane is a total loss

[cub3pp]

oh crap, the t-birds were scedualed to come to wichita next.  i hope they have backup planes
man i hope that doesnt happen in wichita, because we have one of the best aviation records in the US(not perfect although-in 1983 ithink a kc135 deep sixed into a neighborhood and flattened it)

[Rifleman]

From CNN :

[quote]MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (AP) -- A jet in the Air Force's elite Thunderbirds flight unit crashed at an air show Sunday, but the pilot ejected with only minor injuries and no injuries on the ground were reported.

About 85,000 spectators looked on as one of the six Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcons performing crashed during the "Gunfighter Skies 2003" air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base, about 50 miles southeast of Boise.

.

[Scottler]

I JUST saw them about two weeks ago.  Wow.

[Jared]

Glad the pilot is OK, sorry to hear about the plane though...



Jared

P.S. Thanks for the good info!

[N505AF]

from where I was standing it looked like he went into a stall he punched out about 100feet off the ground

[Polynomial]

Now that has gotta leave a scar.  :-[

[ozzy72]

At least nobody was hurt, that is the main thing.

Ozzy

[Hagar]

The important thing is that the pilot got out safely & nobody in the crowd was hurt. The plane can be replaced.

[loomex]

 i hope they have backup planes

Of course they have a back-up plane. The entire fleet of F-16s. Remember the T-birds are line birds that have been repainted

[Scottler]

The video I saw also looked like a stall, but it will definitely be interesting to hear the final report.

There's a phenomenon that occurs when you're going towards the ground at a fast rate of speed like that.  What happens is, you're descending so fast that it takes you so long to pull out of it you can't do so before you impact.  It's not a stall, but more of a momentum issue.  Could be as simple as that.

Knowing the talent of performance teams though, especially the Thunderbirds, I doubt that Captain Stricklin misjudged the distance he'd need to pull out of the dive.  It just doesn't seem at all likely.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Good to see the pilot is ok.
I always thought the T-Birds had the guns and some other equipment deleted

[BFMF]

Glad to hear the pilot's ok

[Rifleman]

Without getting too rude on this, there is a fine line between a dead hero and a wise pilot.....the dead hero may fight the plane into the ground, but a wise pilot will give it his best shot, know when there is nothing more he can do, and get out to come back and tell "what happened" so nobody has to guess............

This man is a wise pilot............

[Scottler]

there is a fine line between a dead hero and a wise pilot...

Did someone mention quote of the month?