[N8 v2.0]

I've been at Sheppard AFB for a couple weeks observing a class and while here I've gotten to see a lot of T-38 Talons (the AF's jet fighter trainers) and met several of the young LT's in the officer's club who fly them. Well, my class is in a building near the runway and this morning there was a huge smoke cloud coming from the middle of one of the runways. Not sure what happened but both the student pilot and the instructor pilot perished...

RIP Airmen...

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=8ae1650c-1251-40dc-8058-84d097bc8e82






T-38 Talon

 

[TN]

Red Rabbit or whatever the hell his name was?

 

[BurlyShirley]

US military deaths only seem to bother you when they happen in front of your face.

 

[N8 v2.0]

US military deaths only seem to bother you when they happen in front of your face.

I hate to see service person die, but our fighting men and women are doing their hazardous mission voluntarily and thank god for them.

 

[sanjuro]

that sucks. sorry.

 

[moff_quigley]

The B-2 pilots take those out for joy rides...to go watch their alma mater in a bowl game for example (I live close to whiteman afb). 'Course they actually have to fly them as the B-2 pretty much flies itself.

RIP

 

[stinkyboy]

I hate to see service person die, but our fighting men and women are doing their hazardous mission voluntarily and thank God for them.

They didn't sign up for this bullsh1t!

 

[moff_quigley]

They didn't sign up for this bullsh1t!

7 tours? Cripes.

 

[N8 v2.0]

They didn't sign up for this bullsh1t!

A soldier goes where his unit goes. Wanting to go or not isn't an option for the professional American military person. You would be shocked to know that many volunteer to go on deployments.

I dont know about that soldier in your link however.

 

[Red Rabbit]

Red Rabbit or whatever the hell his name was?

Still alive and kicking.

No planes for me.

I have absolutely zero depth perception.

Sorry about the crash. My heart goes out to their familys.

Into the Blue.

 

[gonefirefightin]

there has yet to be a unit that has had more than 4 consecutive deployments to a major theater. those are voluntary deployments.

the part that makes me angry is when you survive a deployment and get all jacked up and you get treated like chit.

thats not part of the agreement

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

 

[N8 v2.0]

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

awesome, thanks.

i am heading to the Officers Club for a gathering of deceased pilots fellows.

sure wish you could tag along.

 

[Austin Bike]

That sucks. I saw the result of this one:

DC-10 at o'hare back in the late 70's. I was riding my bike when it went down. We were 15 miles away and saw the black cloud. That is never good.

 

[JohnE]

Austin, where did you grow up? Elk Grove??
I remember that crash like it was yesterday. What a mess...

 

[j.les]

That sucks. I saw the result of this one:

DC-10 at o'hare back in the late 70's. I was riding my bike when it went down. We were 15 miles away and saw the black cloud. That is never good.

Wow. I remember that one. I've lived near O'hare my whole life, I recall seeing the smoke from that crash.

 

[Austin Bike]

Lombard. I was in ~7th grade. We were in villa park on our bikes. Saw the cloud, looked pretty close because it was so big.

Pretty scary. Being on a plane every other week is bad enough without that vision in your head.

 

[Reactor]

there has yet to be a unit that has had more than 4 consecutive deployments to a major theater. those are voluntary deployments.

the part that makes me angry is when you survive a deployment and get all jacked up and you get treated like chit.

thats not part of the agreement

If you do the job the country needs you to do, It's your country's job to give you the help you need. What these injured and crippled soldiers have endure at the hands of their government is a national disgrace.

 

[waveringhobbit]

Too bad... awful bad.

 

[JohnE]

Lombard. I was in ~7th grade. We were in villa park on our bikes.

Dang dude- I was a sprout in Glen Ellyn and Glendale Heights...I bet we have pedaled the same trails!

 

[dan-o]

That sucks. I saw the result of this one:

DC-10 at o'hare back in the late 70's. I was riding my bike when it went down. We were 15 miles away and saw the black cloud. That is never good.

My mom was flying out (sitting on runway, next plane in line-up) when that plane went down. For a few hours, due to vague 70s newscoverage, it was unclear if that was her plane and our house was besieged with neighbors preparing for the worst. Once the dust settled a few hours later and mom got in touch everyone left but we had loads of kick ass food left over.

 

[Quo Fan]

I used to fix planes in the AF. Never had one of mine go down, but I heard they pull the records from day one and question everybody. Will probably be listed as "pilot error" unless they find something glaring.

RIP the air crew. Condolences for the families.

 

[f2f4]

This is horrible. I was stationed at Sheppard about a year and a half ago.

My deepest condolences go out to all the service members there, as well as the families affected.

Quo Fan - you are correct, they pull all the log books and GO-81/CAMS data, and interrogate everyone involved with maintenance. Being aircraft maintenance myself, it's always one of those things that you dread and hope never happens. The smallest errors can bring down the biggest things.

 

[Austin Bike]

Dang dude- I was a sprout in Glen Ellyn and Glendale Heights...I bet we have pedaled the same trails!

Lived a block off the prairie path, used to ride 50-60 miles at a shot with my teenage legs. No dirt trails worth mentioning back then, and on a 10-speed with skinnies the option was not there.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

That sucks. I saw the result of this one:

DC-10 at o'hare back in the late 70's. I was riding my bike when it went down. We were 15 miles away and saw the black cloud. That is never good.

"...maintenance-induced damage leading to the separation of the No. 1 engine and pylon assembly at a critical point during takeoff. The separation resulted from damage by improper maintenance procedures which led to failure of the pylon structure."

 

[FreeRide-Junkie]

Lombard. I was in ~7th grade. We were in villa park on our bikes. Saw the cloud, looked pretty close because it was so big.

Pretty scary. Being on a plane every other week is bad enough without that vision in your head.

Small world.... I grew up in Lombard. I'm only 20 though so that crash was before my existence.

 

[X3pilot]

Saw two military jet crashes in my day, one fatal. Fatal one was a F-14 at an airshow on our base, where I was escorting the parents of the pilot and RIO, oh..on father's day of all days. Then had to supervise part of the reclamation effort. Ever seen a portion of lower leg sticking out of a boot at a crash site? Ever smelled the smell that is uniquely a crash site of a aircraft?

It is part of the deal of flying, part of the deal that you accept when you sign on for the job, but it doesn't make dealing with the aftermath of such sh1tty things any easier.

 

[Quo Fan]

I've only watched 1 plane fly into the ground. During an air show where I was stationed, the Italian team had a mishap and one of the pilots flew into the ground. To his credit, he stayed with the plane so it wouldn't hit a populated area. He very well could have punched out, but the plane would have hit some houses.