Navy Pilot’s Body Recovered
The body of the instructor pilot of the T-34C that crashed in Louisiana has been recovered. Lt Wermers was reportedly found near the sunk wreckage in the lake.
Tag Archives: Aircraft
T-34 Instructor Presumed Dead, Student Rescued
The US Navy has indicated that the instructor pilot from the crashed T-34C training aircraft, Lt. Clinton Wermers, is now presumed dead. The student was rescued the night of the crash and has not yet been identified. Initial reports had indicated that both pilots were holding on to the wreckage before it sank.
A comment left on the CNN article on this story indicated that Wermers was a married father of two, and was expecting a third child.
The T-34C is a Navy primary training aircraft used to teach new student pilots. The two-seat, single engine aircraft does not have ejection seats, but requires aircrew to manually bail out in emergencies. The T-34C is slated to be replaced by the T-6A Texan II.
Navy Plane Crashes in Louisiana
A Navy T-34 has crashed while on a training mission in Louisiana. The initial headline was “One Dead, One Missing” from the two-man crew, though the article itself contradicted the headline and said one pilot had been rescued, and another was missing. Initial reports were that the plane crash landed in the lake, with both pilots clinging to the plane before it sank.
MAF Kodiak Heads to Haiti
Missionary Aviation Fellowship (see Christian Aviation Links) has dispatched one of its new Kodiak aircraft to assist with its in-place team in Haiti. The Kodiaks are unique aircraft that specifically meet the needs of the MAF to fly into remote and rough fields with a significant cargo. The MAF has four of the aircraft; the three others are already flying in other remote locations.
The MAF has long had a presence in Haiti, and that persistence has paid off in the current relief efforts. The US Air Force, which currently controls the Port-au-Prince airport, has been sending relief aircraft to the MAF hangar, where the MAF has been assisting with cargo offloads and customs clearance.
The Kodiak will join three other missionary aircraft that have already begun flying missions to distribute aid around the devastated country, as well as returning to Port-au-Prince with foreign nationals who want to evacuate through the airport.
While evangelism is one of the goals of the MAF, right now it is aptly serving as the “hands and feet” of service that are required to assist a people in great physical need.
Wedding Ring Returned to Hill AFB Widow
Air Force Captain George Bryan Houghton was killed in June of 2009 during a night training mission in his F-16. An article from the Associated Press, as distributed by FoxNews, recounts the story of his widow’s liaison officer (the officer who becomes the family’s help in any way necessary) going an extra mile to help her obtain closure.
The article reports that Houghton’s widow, Josie, only asked for the investigators to return one thing to her: his wedding band. Unfortunately, it was not recovered in the initial crash investigation. The liaison, Maj. Robert Ungerman, took it upon himself to correct that failing, and a moving story results.
Pilot Error Caused F-16 Collision
The Accident Investigation Board has determined that pilot error on the part of Capt. Nicholas Giglio resulted in him colliding with his flight lead, Capt. Lee Bryant, near the end of a night sortie over the waters just east of Charleston, SC, in October. Giglio died in the collision; Bryant landed his crippled aircraft. It appears that Giglio, an inexperienced F-16 pilot, may have been “distracted” by a radar problem and failed to properly execute a rejoin on this flight lead, leading to the collision. Giglio is one of several fighter pilots to die in night training accidents in 2009, including one in Utah and one in Afghanistan.
As noted earlier, Giglio was held up as a man of God and family by his Pastor.
Fighter Pilots and Pigs in Space
Fighter aircraft are, by stereotype, fast, maneuverable, and nimble jets capable of amazing feats of dogfighting, turning, and speed.
What many people fail to realize, however, is that most fighters are only stereotypical “yank and bank” dogfighters when they are stripped down to their bare essentials and flown at low altitude. When loaded with sensor pods, electronics equipment, weapons, and external fuel tanks, virtually every fighter becomes a “truck” or “bus” rather than a Read more
Fighter Pilots and Science Fiction
A rule of writing is that an author must “spell out” a term before using its abbreviation or acronym. It appears that military public affairs writers have taken this rule to heart, almost to a fault.
A recent article from Balad, Iraq, talks about the men and women who maintain the flight equipment that pilots wear on missions. These servicemembers may sometimes be overlooked, but if pilots are forced to depend on their equipment (for example, following an ejection), strong bonds often develop between the Airman who packed a survival kit and the pilot whose life is saved by it.
In the article, the public affairs Airman says Read more