Blue Angels lose one

Nav8tor

Nav8tor

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Nav8tor
CNN is reporting that a Blue Angels jet crashed into a residential area during an airshow in SC.
 
Re: Blue Angels Crash

Witness says on CNN that "Formation of six dipped below the trees, and when they came up, there were only five planes and a column of smoke."
 
Re: Blue Angels Crash

Thats terrible. They're based only about an hour flight from my home town. They're my favorite team. What really sucks is that it shows people that no matter how good a pilot is, airplanes still crash. As sad as it is, we know thats true but unfortunatly sends signals to those who hate airplanes. I'm sure prayers go out to his/her family.
 
Re: Blue Angels Crash

It's a terrible accident. Coroner is reporting one dead. Condolences to their family.
As rare as aviation accidents are, they do happen.
 
Re: Blue Angels Crash

Terrible. What a loss.
 
Re: Blue Angels Crash

These guys are the best at what they do. Practice is a never-ending process everyday. If you've seen the videos of their training sessions, you've noticed their "chair flying" is nothing like you've ever done.

I applied for acceptance to the Blue Angels squadron as an avionics tech. The competition is tough, even at the lowest ranks. Their plane captains would have better fitness reports than many officers.

If it can happen to them, no one is immune. It's a sad loss. I can't recall the last time an Angel was lost. It had to be many years ago.

These guys are a very tight group. My prayers go out to the entire squadron and the family of the lost pilot.
 
Re: Blue Angels Crash

Sad news, they are a great team.

I took one of the names of the homeowners interviewed in an MSNBC article and looked them up in AnyWho.com, and plotted the crash scene as very near here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...468,-80.768287&spn=0.008655,0.014291&t=h&om=1

That puts them just SW of the airport, turning back in to land if they were near the end of their routine, as has been reported.

Sad day, my condolences to the families. I can't imagine what it would be like to be the family member of one of these pilots, knowing one went down, wondering if it was your own.
 
Re: Blue Angels Crash

Troy Whistman said:
I can't imagine what it would be like to be the family member of one of these pilots, knowing one went down, wondering if it was your own.
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I guarantee you that the immediate family was notified before the news broke that there was one dead, probably not long after the rest of the team landed. The teams have their own internal information distribution systems for situations like that. I suspect that the squadron commander's wife, the base chaplain, the base flight surgeon (I believe the Blues' flight surgeon travels with the team), and the wife of the pilot's best friend were at the family's house in Pensacola very, very quickly. The only problem with that system is that all the wives know what it means when she sees that group coming up the front walk, and what happens then ain't something of which you want to be a part.
 
CNN is reporting that his family was there and was watching the show.
 
That's so sad. My heart goes out to the family and the
rest of the Blues.

Is there any idea of what went wrong yet? Could it have been
birds around the airport?

RT
 
RogerT said:
Is there any idea of what went wrong yet? Could it have been birds around the airport?
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CNN was quoting a witness who said the airplane hit the top of a pine tree, shed some pieces, and hit a house. Anything beyond that is unsupported speculation.
 
Ron Levy said:
CNN was quoting a witness who said the airplane hit the top of a pine tree, shed some pieces, and hit a house. Anything beyond that is unsupported speculation.
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Here is some unsupported speculation, I'll wager this is the same type of accident the Thunderbirds had a few years ago, when the flight leader flew 3 of his flight into the ground by pulling out too low, the rest just blindlly followed.

It's too bad the kids folks were watching.
 
Rest easy now #6, we saw you fly in Panama City.

God Bless.

Gary Gembala
 

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Is it true that the blue angel pilots don't wear g-suits? I read somewhere that the inflating suits could cause them to bump the stick, which is not good when flying close together.
 
Let us also remember that their were 8 people injured on the ground that need our thoughts that they recover as well as the family of the pilot.
 
NC19143 said:
Here is some unsupported speculation, I'll wager this is the same type of accident the Thunderbirds had a few years ago, when the flight leader flew 3 of his flight into the ground by pulling out too low, the rest just blindlly followed.
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"A few years ago" was 1982 when they were still flying T-38s, and all four died (including the flight lead).

I seriously doubt this incident is anything close to that one. It's way too early to speculate on what exactly happened, and I'm sure the media will do enough of that in the coming days. Let the investigators do their job.

It's very sad to lose anyone in aviation. Thoughts and prayers to his family. I believe the pilot that died was the pilot in the e-famous Blue Angel video with the reporter that GLOCs 6-9 times.

:(
 
citationxjl said:
Is it true that the blue angel pilots don't wear g-suits? I read somewhere that the inflating suits could cause them to bump the stick, which is not good when flying close together.
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It's true that they don't wear G-suits, but I'm not sure that's the reason. I think the suits are too confining. They train to use straining techniques.

We had the former Blue Angel #1 Steven Boss Foley on the Pilotcast and we have a video of a ride along where Boss Foley briefed his buddy on the technique.

http://pilotcast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=94060
 
NC19143 said:
Here is some unsupported speculation, I'll wager this is the same type of accident the Thunderbirds had a few years ago, when the flight leader flew 3 of his flight into the ground by pulling out too low, the rest just blindlly followed.
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I'll wager against that. The pitch control system problem that led to the Thunderbirds' accident during training is peculiar to the T-38. Also, the Thunderbirds were doing a line abreast loop, which requires the wingmen to look sideways at lead with virtually no forward view, making them 100% dependent on lead to judge the pull-out. That's not quite the same as a normal diamond or delta, where the wingmen still have some peripheral forward vision, and information to date suggests the Blues were repositioning, not pulling out of an overhead maneuver. Finally, Thunderbird 1 erred by putting his left hand on the stick to pull harder (a futile move given the failure that occurred -- there was no way to obtain more nose-up slab no matter how much stick force was applied) instead of first keying the mic button on the throttle to tell the rest of the team to break off and pull out individually.
 
FLYING WEST

I hope there's a place, way up in the sky
Where pilots can go when they have to die.
A place where a guy could buy a cold beer
For a friend and a comrade whose memory is dear.
A place where no doctor or lawyer could tread,
Nor a management-type would e'er be caught dead!
Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke.
The kind of a place that a lady could go
And feel safe and secure by the men she would know.

There must be a place where old pilots go,
When their wings become heavy, when their airspeed gets low,
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And songs about flying and dying are sung.
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd 'flown west' before,
And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door,
Who would buy you a drink, if your thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"

And there, through the mist, you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen in years, though he'd taught you to fly.
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear
And say, "Welcome, my Son, I'm proud that you're here!
For this is the place where true flyers come
When the battles are over, and the wars have been won.
They've come here at last, to be safe and alone,
From the government clerk, and the management clone;
Politicians and lawyers, the Feds, and the noise,
Where all hours are happy, and these good ol' boys
Can relax with a cool one, and a well deserved rest!
This is Heaven, my Son. You've passed your last test!"

— Captain Michael J. Larkin, TWA (Ret.), 'Air Line Pilot' magazine, February 1995
 
Please take a moment to read about and honor the life and career of this extraordinary man. This biography is from the Blue Angels website.

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Davis was a native of Pittsfield, MA, and graduated from Reading Memorial High School in 1992 where he played football and was active with the Civil Air Patrol. He attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Science with honors in 1996.

Kevin reported to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, FL, for Officer Candidate School and aviation indoctrination in September 1996. He completed primary flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, TX, and transferred to NAS Meridian, MI, for intermediate and advanced flight training. While there, he flew the T-2C Buckeye and TA-4J Skyhawk, and received his wings of gold in June 1999.

Kevin reported to Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) at NAS Oceana, VA, for training in the F-14 Tomcat and was the “Top Stick” in his class. In July 2000 he reported to the VF-11 “Red Rippers” where he completed deployments aboard the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). While with the “Red Rippers,” Kevin served as the airframes/corrosion branch officer, air-to-ground training officer and head landing signals officer. His deployments included extended operations in the North Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In July 2003, Kevin transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet through Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125) at NAS Lemoore, CA, and then reported to the Fighter Composite Squadron (VFC-12) “Omars,” stationed at NAS Oceana, VA. While at VFC-12, Kevin served as a Navy adversary pilot providing valuable air-to-air training for fleet squadrons. In December of 2004, Kevin graduated from the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) as an adversary pilot. During his tour at VFC-12, Kevin worked as the schedules officer, legal officer, FRS/SFARP officer and assistant operations officer.

Kevin joined the Blue Angels in September 2005. He has accumulated more than 2,500 flight hours and 200 carrier arrested landings. His decorations include the Air Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and various personal and unit awards.
 
Patch said:
Higher blood pressure = better g tolerances. Skinny runner types usually don't do as well.
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I doubt a fat out of shape guy would do well either. From what I've seen I wouldn't say the guys that handle high G's real well are skinny running types. But I also wouldn't say they are large people either. Being large means there is going to be a LOT more force.

Sean Tucker can't possibly weigh more than 175 lbs. My great great uncle did a lot of high G aerobatics and he was smaller than me.
 
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The services still mandate a certain amount of aerobic training for cardiovascular fitness, but fighter crews have additional weight training requirements. The Blues, along with every other USAF/USN/USMC fighter squadron, maintain a physical training regimen designed by the flight surgeons and aviation physiologies based on decades of extensive research. The push toward weight training rather than running began over 20 years ago based on studies conducted as a result of a number of G-LOC accidents, mostly in the F-16. Even pilots of "low-g" aircraft like the F-117 have to do their weight training several times a week, but pilots of "high-g" airplanes like the F-16 and F/A-18 have highly demanding training routines to maintain their 9-g tolerance.
 
Ron Levy said:
The services still mandate a certain amount of aerobic training for cardiovascular fitness, but fighter crews have additional weight training requirements. The Blues, along with every other USAF/USN/USMC fighter squadron, maintain a physical training regimen designed by the flight surgeons and aviation physiologies based on decades of extensive research. The push toward weight training rather than running began over 20 years ago based on studies conducted as a result of a number of G-LOC accidents, mostly in the F-16. Even pilots of "low-g" aircraft like the F-117 have to do their weight training several times a week, but pilots of "high-g" airplanes like the F-16 and F/A-18 have highly demanding training routines to maintain their 9-g tolerance.
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Only in a perfect world. You take the FACT once and that's what separates you from the herbivores in terms of physical conditioning. Otherwise, fighter dudes take the same PFT and struggle to get away for gym time just like everyone else.
 
jesse said:
I doubt a fat out of shape guy would do well either. From what I've seen I wouldn't say the guys that handle high G's real well are skinny running types. But I also wouldn't say they are large people either. Being large means there is going to be a LOT more force.

Sean Tucker can't possibly weigh more than 175 lbs. My great great uncle did a lot of high G aerobatics and he was smaller than me.
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Actually, a couch potato type will do as well with G's as a runner type. Pulling G's is an anaerobic exercise. Typically the guys that do the best with G's are short and have higher blood pressure than most people. Having stong legs and abs both aid in one's g-strain.
 
IamBull said:
Actually, a couch potato type will do as well with G's as a runner type. Pulling G's is an anaerobic exercise. Typically the guys that do the best with G's are short and have higher blood pressure than most people. Having stong legs and abs both aid in one's g-strain.
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Short..he was.
 
tonycondon said:
oh yea, as opposed to the fat out of shape fighter pilots...:dunno:
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During my time in the Navy, I did not see an out-of-shape pilot. As docile as the Viking, Hawkeye and similar aircraft are, even these guys were still in good shape. The same went for the C-9 and P-3 pilots I came across. Physical condition is a large part of a flight officer's fitness report. Enlisted got away with murder by comparison.
 
This snip from the NY Times.

Gerald Popp, 33, who was in his front yard about a mile from the air station, the site of the air show, said he stopped to watch. He said five planes began flying in formation.

One of the planes had turned away, and that seemed to have been the one that crashed, Mr. Popp said. “It sounded like he lost an engine,” he said. “There was a boom. It started heading downward. There was a big cloud of black smoke that came up.”

The crash took place in the final minutes of the air show, said Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Walley, a Blue Angel pilot. The pilots were doing a maneuver that involved the coming together of all six planes from behind the crowd to form a Delta triangle, said Lt. Cmdr. Garrett D. Kasper, spokesman for the Blue Angels. One plane did not rejoin the formation.

As this comes from the media, take it for what it is worth.

My thoughts go out to all the families involved.

-Skip
 
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