A US Navy pilot ejected from this F-5N Tiger II off the coast of Key West. He was pulled from the water by Coast Guard helicopter about an hour later.
If you’re wondering what a Navy F-5 is, you’re not alone. For most Read more
The US Navy reported that one of its trainers, a T-45C Goshawk, crashed on a training mission Sunday night:
The training aircraft, assigned to Training Squadron (VT) 21, crashed during a routine training mission over Brooks County. County first responders were immediately dispatched to the scene.
A Stars and Stripes report indicated the aircrew were actually Marine officers. The two ejected and were transported to the local hospital.
The crash Read more
A US Air Force Thunderbird crashed while returning to Peterson AFB in Colorado, following their performance over the graduation ceremony of the US Air Force Academy Class of 2016 — at which President Obama had just spoken.
Photos taken by local news crews indicate the F-16 appears to have slid inauspiciously along the ground — not unlike some other legends of aircraft that “crashed” but eventually flew again because they “crashed” so softly.
The F-16 pilot, Major Alex Turner, ejected and appeared to be uninjured. He was apparently not confined to a hospital, as with most other pilots who eject. Rather, he met President Obama at Peterson.
At nearly the same time in Tennessee, a Navy Read more
Two US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets crashed last Thursday during a “routine training mission” off the North Carolina coast. All four crewmembers ejected safely.
The Navy initially reported only that they crashed, though it was a reasonable conclusion they collided (as confirmed later by the Navy):
The fighters were based in Virginia Beach and collided about 10:40 a.m., said Navy spokesman Ensign Mark Rockwellpate. Witnesses reported seeing four parachutes floating down into the Atlantic after the incident.
As with every incident, the Navy will investigate the mishap and report on it at some point in the coming months. Read more
A Marine Fighter Pilot flying an AV-8B Harrier ejected during exercises off the North Carolina coast. He was rescued by an H-60 Seahawk about a half hour later.
The pilot was apparently in a flight of four aircraft. His ejection Read more
Luke Air Force Base announced that an F-16 flown by a Taiwanese student pilot crashed yesterday morning near Bagdad, Arizona.
The student pilot was being trained in a “high G[-force] maneuver between two aircraft in an air-to-air fight,” Pleus said. The pilot’s instructor was in a separate aircraft.
Such a statement bears the hallmarks of a G-induced Loss of Consciousness, or G-LOC, which has historically incapacitated pilots and left them unable to eject. Read more
On Saturday, a US Navy T-6A Texan II training airplane crashed near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Navy reported the two-man crew ejected during their “routine training flight.”
On Monday, a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet crashed near Lemoore Naval Air Station in California, as reported by the Navy. The single pilot is said to have ejected safely. Read more
Last October’s midair collision between two Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16s was blamed on pilot error:
The pilots…were flying in formation, conducting tricky combat maneuvers, with a third F-16 role playing as an attacking enemy. The two pilots lost sight of each other before their right wings collided 16 seconds later in clear skies.
The instructor lost control and ejected; the student returned Read more