Thunderbird ejection vid...here

[Uncle Sam]

I don't think this has been posted, but if it has, news to me...

inside: http://www.avweb.com/newspics/tbirdcrash.mpg

more on the website: http://www.avweb.com/newswire/10_06a/briefs/186633-1.html

[Sierra]

kool video
thanks! :D

[Groove]

That was really close ! This guy have nice nerves !

[Uncle Sam]

That was really close ! This guy have nice nerves !

And "nice" unemployment...

[AFG]

Can anyone tell me what happened? it looks like he did a sumersault and lost control? :|

[Uncle Sam]

Can anyone tell me what happened? it looks like he did a sumersault and lost control? :|

Read here: http://www.avweb.com/newswire/10_05a/briefs/186582-1.html

[AFG]

thx

[Wilco]

That was really close ! This guy have nice nerves !

And "nice" unemployment...


I'd rather have an nice unemployment then a nice charred body in about 600 different pieces.

[flickme]

Good thing he pulled when he did. A second later and....well.....no more pilot.

[MVSpartan117]

From what I heard, he didn't eject till he was sure the jet wouldn't go into the crowd.

[Merik]

From what I heard, he didn't eject till he was sure the jet wouldn't go into the crowd.

No he didnt eject until the last minute because he thought he could get out of it. Once that baby pushed over from the loop he knew instantly there was no way he could actually make and yet he didnt abort the manuever when he had the chance. Thus "boom!"

[MVSpartan117]

From what I heard, he didn't eject till he was sure the jet wouldn't go into the crowd.

No he didnt eject until the last minute because he thought he could get out of it. Once that baby pushed over from the loop he knew instantly there was no way he could actually make and yet he didnt abort the manuever when he had the chance. Thus "boom!"

Thought I was wrong, maybe that was another crash......

[Uncle Sam]

Pilot error caused a U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 to crash at an air show on Sept. 14 at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, the Air Force said on Wednesday.

The pilot incorrectly climbed to 1,670 feet AGL instead of 2,500 feet before initiating the pull-down to the Split-S maneuver, according to the Air Force news release.

The pilot, Chris Stricklin, 31, apparently flew by mistake to the MSL altitude used when practicing the maneuver at his home base, Nellis AFB in Nevada, which is 1,000 feet lower than the Idaho field elevation.

The pilot ejected just eight-tenths of a second before impact, after reportedly making an effort to steer the aircraft away from the crowd of about 85,000 ... and now works at the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C. Stricklin suffered minor injuries. The F-16, valued at $20.4 million, was destroyed.

When Stricklin realized something was wrong, he exerted maximum back stick pressure and rolled slightly left to ensure the aircraft would impact away from the crowd should he have to eject, the Air Force said.

He ejected when the aircraft was 140 feet above the ground. There was no other damage to military or civilian property.

Also, the board determined other factors substantially contributed to creating the opportunity for the error to occur, including the requirement for demonstration pilots to convert AGL elevations to MSL altitudes, and performing a maneuver with a limited margin of error.

Instead of just zeroing the altimeter to deck level as a result of the crash, procedures have been changed to require that Thunderbird pilots climb an extra 1,000 feet before starting the Split-S maneuver. Pilots must also call out their altitude to the ground safety operator in MSL rather than AGL numbers.

[Merik]

He had a chance to abort the manuever and didnt but either that article didnt say that or the Air Force didnt release that to the public to save what little of his career he still has.