Tag Archives: luke afb

Air Force Publishes Profane Euphemism But Doesn’t Know It

There’s a long fighter pilot tradition of “names” and “namings,” in which fighter pilots have a callsign bestowed upon them that will likely follow them for the remainder of their careers. As noted in the longer discussions on the tradition, callsigns are sometimes the result of a notable action, a physical trait, or a play on the pilot’s name.

For example, the current Chief of Staff of the Air Force is Gen David “Fingers” Goldfein, playing off his name and the James Bond reference.

Luke Air Force Base recently issued a press release about an award recognition that 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

F-16 Crashes at Luke Air Force Base

Update: Gen Mike Rothstein, the Luke AFB wing commander, indicated the F-16 may have been brought down by a bird strike.

Two pilots ejected safely when their F-16 crashed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, last night.

The jet went down just before 7 p.m. in a desert area about 3 miles west of the airfield, said officials at the base.

Both pilots suffered minor injuries, Sgt. Linda Rainey said. Their names weren’t immediately released.

Glendale Fire Department officials said the two pilots were seen walking around after the crash and were taken to Luke Air Force Base Hospital for further evaluation.

Luke is the primary training base for American F-16 pilots (the base also hosts international F-16 training), meaning the two pilots were likely instructor and student.

Repeated at Stars and Stripes and the Air Force Times.

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