Thunderbird crash in 72
Albert Dobyns
future transportation might look like. They also had several airshow
performers including the Thunderbirds. Back then they were flying the
F-4. On the last day of the show, they were getting ready to do that
maneuver where they all pull up sharply and then after they have gained
a fair amount of altitude they pull over each going a different
direction. I'm sure there's a name for that stunt, I just don't
remember it. Anyway, one of the planes (I believe Mike Kerby was his
name) had a problem. The newspaper or some other report said that one
of his J-79s had a compressor stall. Shortly after that the other
engine had the same problem. He stay with the plane long enough to get
it level and pointing away from the crowds before ejecting. By that
time he must have been fairly close to the ground because he couldn't
steer his chute away from the fireball. He died in the fireball. I
guess lots of people saw it happen. I had planned to go on the last
day for a 2nd time to see the airshow. I'm glad I didn't (more
concerned for my wife and kids seeing the accident). Was the loss of
the plane and pilot caused by pilot error or mechanical problem? I
don't know. At least he was able to avoid having the plane crash close
to the crowd. I don't think such accidents should cause airshows to be
shut down. I just think that airshows give more people more of an
opportunity to see tragic accidents as they happen. And these days it's
not uncommon to see videotape show up on the evening news. Just thought
I'd throw in my 2 cents worth (not counting the cost of this message
being transmitted over the phone company's wires)!
* SLMR 2.1a * "Ensign Clampett? He's Jed, Jim."
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Chris Johnson
In the original article, Albert Dobyns described a crash at the Transportation Exhibition 1972 (Transpo 72) at Dulles Internation Airport.
There were 3 deaths over the duration of the exhibition.
The first was when the "pilot" of a hang glider on a tow rope (if I remember correctly, I was a teenager at the time and this was* 21 years ago!), who stalled or something and dumped it into the ground.
The second occurred as I watched it happen through binoculars. It was a sprint race around pylons -- I believe the aircraft involved are fairly small and fast. In a turn, the prop of an outside plane hit the tip of the wing of the plane inside. Well, the wing pretty much came off instantly, and at less than 300' AGL, the aircraft rolled fast and hit the ground so quick the pilot was still exhaling his first expletive when he died.
Kind of shocked me, too. I knew almost without a doubt that the pilot could not have survived.
The third was as described in Albert's article. The maneuver is called the bomb burst, one of the Thunderbirds more spectacular moves. It was very unfortunate that the pilot managed to bail out with the plane safely away from the very large crowds only to die in the wreckage on the ground.
For some reason, I seem to recall rumors he had a heart attack, but Albert seems to more clearly recall it as a mechanical failure. This, while in a vertical climb in close proximity to 3 or 4 (depending on where the soloist is at that point in the manuever) F4's.
I'm glad I went, despite the tragedies.
Seeing the Thunderbirds, the Blue Angels, Golden Eagles (I believe -- Army parachute team), the CAF, the Canadian team (name forgotten), and the Royal Air Force Red Arrows all in the same day was rather impressive. And the Red Arrows fly 9(!) planes in formation, if I remember correctly. Seeing a synchronized roll with 9 planes is guaranteed to take your breath away.
Albert Dobyns
CJ-> Subject: Re: Thunderbird crash in 72
CJ-> Organization: NETstor, Inc. Burnsville, MN USA
CJ-> Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1993 23:24:03 GMT
CJ-> There were 3 deaths over the duration of the exhibition.
CJ-> The first was when the "pilot" of a hang glider on a tow rope (if I rememb
CJ-> rectly, I was a teenager at the time and this was* 21 years ago!), who sta
CJ-> r something and dumped it into the ground.
I had forgotten about this one although my limitied memory seems to
remember either something breaking (like a major support spar) or the
pilot somehow getting flipped over onto the top of the hang glider and
not being able to recover. I wish I had saved all the articles I read
so I could at least provide info as posted in the newspapers (although
that's not always a guarantee of accuracy).
CJ-> The second occurred as I watched it happen through binoculars. It was a s
CJ-> race around pylons -- I believe the aircraft involved are fairly small and
CJ-> In a turn, the prop of an outside plane hit the tip of the wing of the p
CJ-> nside. Well, the wing pretty much came off instantly, and at less than 30
CJ-> , the aircraft rolled fast and hit the ground so quick the pilot was still
CJ-> ing his first expletive when he died.
This is one I was completely unaware of. I think by week's end the
people who promoted the show must have felt like calling it quits.
CJ-> Kind of shocked me, too. I knew almost without a doubt that the pilot cou
CJ-> have survived.
CJ-> The third was as described in Albert's article. The maneuver is called th
CJ-> burst, one of the Thunderbirds more spectacular moves. It was very unfor
CJ-> that the pilot managed to bail out with the plane safely away from the ve
CJ-> ge crowds only to die in the wreckage on the ground.
CJ-> For some reason, I seem to recall rumors he had a heart attack, but Albert
CJ-> to more clearly recall it as a mechanical failure. This, while in a vert
CJ-> limb in close proximity to 3 or 4 (depending on where the soloist is at th
CJ-> nt in the manuever) F4's.
Hmmmm, I haven't heard about any possible heart attack although it is
possible even though those guys are in great shape. At one time I
thought perhaps he got started a little late in the maneuver and ran the
throttles up too quickly which lead to one stall then the other stall
(engine's conpressors stalling). Just speculation on my part. I recall
the local tv newscasts commenting on the accident but I don't remember
seeing any video on it. I collected bags full of literature at the show
but wound up throwing it out after several years. One part I'm not 100%
sure of is the pilot's name was Mike Kerby and I received something in
the mail from my alma mater (N.C. State Univ) that had his pictured
framed in black with a brief description of his Air Force career. We
may have graduated about the same year but I don't believe I knew him.
Nearly twenty years after the show I finally was able to afford to take
flying lessons. I got to know one guy somewhat because we had the same
instructor although he started his training about a year after I did.
One morning I got a call saying he and his 16 year old daughter were
killed in an accident that took place shortly after takeoff. I'm glad
I didn't know him better as I think that would have made the loss feel
even worse.
One of the most surprising Thunderbird crashes I've ever heard about was
the one where all 4 were killed during a practise session at Nellis. I
think the lead T-38 couldn't pull up during the bottom of a loop and all
4 hit the ground! I don't recall what the cause of the accident was
determined to be but I guess the other 3 pilots concentrate on the lead
plane so hard that they probably didn't see the ground coming up to meet
them. Well enough of this depressing stuff.....flying is still safer
than driving!
CJ-> I'm glad I went, despite the tragedies.
CJ-> Seeing the Thunderbirds, the Blue Angels, Golden Eagles (I believe -- Army
CJ-> hute team), the CAF, the Canadian team (name forgotten), and the Royal Air
CJ-> Red Arrows all in the same day was rather impressive. And the Red Arrows
CJ-> (!) planes in formation, if I remember correctly. Seeing a synchronized r
CJ-> th 9 planes is guaranteed to take your breath away.
* SLMR 2.1a * "I never saw a Blackbird I didn't like!"
Andrew Boyd
<albert...@mwbbs.com> wrote:
>One of the most surprising Thunderbird crashes I've ever heard about was
>the one where all 4 were killed during a practise session at Nellis. I
>think the lead T-38 couldn't pull up during the bottom of a loop and all
>4 hit the ground!
What was surprising about that? If the lead decides to fly into
the ground (for whatever reason), of course the rest are going to
follow him. Good formation pilots can't just decide to split up
when they start to get close to the ground.
Has anyone ever done any work on having drones fly formation? It
seems like a natural, if challenging, application for a cpu. After
all, the only one really flying his airplane is the lead, who in
fact is flying the entire formation.
--
#include <std.disclaimer>
gcrog...@gmail.com
The pilot was Major Joseph C. Howard. He attended NC State 1958-1962. I attended school with him 12 years in Ahoskie NC and 4 years at NC State. I spoke with him briefly by phone the Sunday morning of accident. The Air Force never makes public the cause of any crash. The F-4 had problems before it reached field on that run and flew over the crowd at Dulles, travelling NE to SW. The crash made the evening news on Washington DC TV and it showed Joe successfully maneuvered the plane away from the crowd, successfully ejected but at such a low altitude the fire and heat from the crash drew his parachute up and over into the flames. I will say the man I spoke to at Dulles the day before.(Sat) was not a candidate for a heart attack and a pilot who had flown well over 100 missions in Vietnam (69 over the North), surviving being shot down over the south China Sea, would hardly be a candidate for pilot error.
If you ever get to Nellis Air Force Base, the headquarters Building is Howard Hall. If there had been any hint of pilot error , I'm sure the Air Force would not have honored his memory with such a tribute.
