Thunderbird and Blue Angel crash in separate incidents on same day!

[Jeb]

The T-bird went down relatively intact in a field near Colorado Springs. Pilot ejected OK.

The Blue went down in a fireball in Smyrna, TN. I don't know any more than that.

 

[Johnbr]

Here is some info.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/politics/military-plane-crash/

 

[Sundog]

They're now reporting the Blue Angels pilot died in the crash.

 

[Jeb]

SHIT.

 

[Airplane]

Equipment is wearing out. I bet the reason for both is how old the birds are getting.

 

[yasotay]

When THE elite flight units of the US Department of Defense have this most improbable of situations occur, when taken into account with the recent revelations as to the status of the US Navy aircraft fleet in the Pacific, one can only hope that leadership will see the warning signs that these tragic events are.

 

[Airplane]

When THE elite flight units of the US Department of Defense have this most improbable of situations occur, when taken into account with the recent revelations as to the status of the US Navy aircraft fleet in the Pacific, one can only hope that leadership will see the warning signs that these tragic events are.

I had this conversation about 10 years ago about the aging USAF and USN equipment with a retired brig gen, and his thinking was that no one will care until fighters start crashing in neighborhoods and then the people will wake up. I now think it'll take a fighter crashing into a school before the populace cares about refurbishing the services with new airframes.

 

[Jeb]

When THE elite flight units of the US Department of Defense have this most improbable of situations occur, when taken into account with the recent revelations as to the status of the US Navy aircraft fleet in the Pacific, one can only hope that leadership will see the warning signs that these tragic events are.

I had this conversation about 10 years ago about the aging USAF and USN equipment with a retired brig gen, and his thinking was that no one will care until fighters start crashing in neighborhoods and then the people will wake up. I now think it'll take a fighter crashing into a school before the populace cares about refurbishing the services with new airframes.

Nope, that's when the general public will start refusing to allow overflights of populated areas. DOD does not have a plan or program to reach out to taxpayers and inspire us to re-capitalize defense, and even if it did, it'd have to be damn good to outperform the media's opposition.

 

[kaiserd]

When THE elite flight units of the US Department of Defense have this most improbable of situations occur, when taken into account with the recent revelations as to the status of the US Navy aircraft fleet in the Pacific, one can only hope that leadership will see the warning signs that these tragic events are.

I had this conversation about 10 years ago about the aging USAF and USN equipment with a retired brig gen, and his thinking was that no one will care until fighters start crashing in neighborhoods and then the people will wake up. I now think it'll take a fighter crashing into a school before the populace cares about refurbishing the services with new airframes.

Nope, that's when the general public will start refusing to allow overflights of populated areas. DOD does not have a plan or program to reach out to taxpayers and inspire us to re-capitalize defense, and even if it did, it'd have to be damn good to outperform the media's opposition.

And does anybody know the actual causes of the crashes yet?
Or anything like informed speculation on the specific causes?
If age/ fatigue was a factor then by all means decry that but perhaps best to wait for some facts to emerge.

 

[yasotay]

When THE elite flight units of the US Department of Defense have this most improbable of situations occur, when taken into account with the recent revelations as to the status of the US Navy aircraft fleet in the Pacific, one can only hope that leadership will see the warning signs that these tragic events are.

I had this conversation about 10 years ago about the aging USAF and USN equipment with a retired brig gen, and his thinking was that no one will care until fighters start crashing in neighborhoods and then the people will wake up. I now think it'll take a fighter crashing into a school before the populace cares about refurbishing the services with new airframes.

Nope, that's when the general public will start refusing to allow overflights of populated areas. DOD does not have a plan or program to reach out to taxpayers and inspire us to re-capitalize defense, and even if it did, it'd have to be damn good to outperform the media's opposition.

And does anybody know the actual causes of the crashes yet?
Or anything like informed speculation on the specific causes?
If age/ fatigue was a factor then by all means decry that but perhaps best to wait for some facts to emerge.

A fair point, given that the aircraft of the flight demonstration teams are arguably the best kept aircraft in the inventory. However I would be exceedingly surprised to find that pilot error was the cause.

 

[Airplane]

The Hornets are for a fact old and falling apart. Someone else would have to chime in about the hours and build dates on the t-birds.

 

[GTX]

The Hornets are for a fact old and falling apart. Someone else would have to chime in about the hours and build dates on the t-birds.

Equipment is wearing out. I bet the reason for both is how old the birds are getting.

How about we await the official investigations before making such statements?

 

[Airplane]

The Hornets are for a fact old and falling apart. Someone else would have to chime in about the hours and build dates on the t-birds.

Equipment is wearing out. I bet the reason for both is how old the birds are getting.

How about we await the official investigations before making such statements?

Yeah, yeah, but do 5 minutes of research and it's easy to see the Blue Angels Hornet's are the among the oldest they have. From what I've been able to gather neither event seems to be a case of pilot error.

 

[GTX]

If you do more than 5 minutes of research you will realise that there are many possible causes of such incidents and that old aircraft fly safely each and every day.

 

[Jeb]

No official statements that I've seen yet but it *sounds* from witness reports that maybe the F-16 could have ingested a bird (apparently the birds of prey in the area get big)? Engine failure without fire is what I've gathered, and the pilot had time to set up the plane to glide into an open area.

The witness report for the Hornet was that the pilot was coming out of a loop and failed to complete it, but there was engine noise, so who knows if it was mechanical or human error?

 

[Archibald]

A fair point, given that the aircraft of the flight demonstration teams are arguably the best kept aircraft in the inventory

+++
Excellent point.

 

[fightingirish]

Just found at SNAFU's Blog.