Tag Archives: Fighter Pilot

Fallen Marines Memorialized with 12 White Crosses

marinecrossThe 12 US Marines lost last week when their two CH-53E helicopters failed to return to base have been declared deceased.  They were previously identified here.

In a memorial ceremony last Friday, their fellow Marines placed combat gear on white crosses in a modified battlefield cross:

Forty-eight Marines solemnly adorned white crosses with flight vests, helmets, goggles and Hawaiian leis Friday in tribute to the dozen men lost when two helicopters collided during training…

Commanding officer LtCol Eric Purcell quoted the Marines’ Hymn:  Read more

USAF F-16 Flown by Taiwanese Pilot Crashes in Arizona

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

Fighter Pilots in Afghanistan Contradict Commander-in-Chief

As of January, President Barack Obama declared that combat in Afghanistan was over.

A unit of F-16 fighter pilots at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan was recently quoted as saying they’re basically doing the same thing they were last year — combat.

Pilots from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 421st Fighter Squadron are still flying round-the-clock patrols, and they are still dropping bombs on the enemy. The airstrikes, which reached a 10-month high in October — are seen as vital to stopping insurgents from overrunning vulnerable areas around Read more

Holloman AFB F-16 Crashes

Last Wednesday, a fledgling F-16 pilot had reason to be thankful when he successfully ejected during a training mission out of Holloman AFB, New Mexico:

“The pilot successfully ejected and was transported to a local medical facility,” Holloman Director of Media Relations Arlan Ponder said. “He was part of a training mission…”

The First Lieutenant was likely an upgrading student, as the squadron at Holloman actually belongs to the primary F-16 training unit at Luke AFB, Arizona.

As is the normal routine, the Air Force will investigate the incident and report on it some months from now.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cleared Hot: Court Rules Flights Suits back in Style

A state appeals court has overturned a lower court and ruled that military flight suits cannot be trademarked:

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Atlanta-based Afterburner Inc. could not stop others from using a “military aviation-themed approach to business consulting” or wearing flight suits and using fighter jet imagery in such presentations.

The suit started when employees broke off from Afterburner Inc. and started their own company. A trial court had ruled in favor of Afterburner, but the appeals court reversed it: Read more

Fighter Pilot Followed Rules, but Must Defend his Wings

In January, a US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet flew over Berkeley, California, creating smiles, a news story, and setting off a few car alarms.

The Navy “investigated” and determined the pilot (“naval aviator”) violated no rules. In fact, he was under FAA control at the time, and Air Traffic Control approved his altitude and flight path.

Yet the pilot will still have to defend his wings and flying career:  Read more

1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 63