Posted on 09/14/2014 7:52:48 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The missing pilot is Lieutenant Nathan Poloski, 26, of Lake Arrowhead, Calif., a 2009 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, the Navy said in a statement.
Poloski went missing Friday after two F/A-18 Hornet jets collided west of Wake Island, about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) west of Hawaii. The Navy conducted a 36-hour search over 3,000 square miles for the pilot and his aircraft but called off the search on Saturday, saying Poloski was thought to be dead.
"Nathan was an outstanding person, naval officer and aviator," said Commander Michael Langbehn.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
God bless the. Lt. And prayers. For his family.
Prayers up, Godspeed, RIP
I have a hard time imagining how two airplanes could collide in mid air like this.
Prayers Up for a “High Flight” Lt Poloski, where you may “Touch the Face of God”..
Active Duty ping.
PILOT-1: "We're gonna turn left, right?:"
PILOT-2: "Yeah, right."
Luke AFB, AZ 1998 two F-16’s collide. One jet crashes, pilot killed. The other damaged jet managed to return to base.
Shaw AFB, SC 2007? two F-16’s collide over the Atlantic coast. One pilot is able to IFE into Myrte Beach. The other crashes into the ocean. DNA on the jet that landed determine the pilots canopy impacted the missile rail of the other jet.
It happens.
Flying and fighting is an extremely dangerous duty. To fight effectively military pilots must do things most people would consider crazy and they must train the same way they will fight. Thank God for all those who are "crazy" enough to fly and fight and for such great professionalism that these accidents are rare occurrences.
Several years ago an Israeli pilot lost a wing on his F-15 because of a mid air collision. He somehow managed to land without the wing.
After he saw the damage he said if he had known it was that bad he would have ejected. The wing root on an F-15 provides some lift which I am sure is what allowed him to continue flying.
I remember it.
Wake Island. God,what memories of my childhood.
RIP Lt. Poloski.
.
The 3D space and hard-to-judge rates of closure make collision very likely without skill at flying in close proximity to other airplanes.
I enjoy watching birds fly in pairs, they do some amazing things to avoid ramming each other.
Another interesting story is how an F-15 made it back to Eglin after his canopy exploded, blinding the pilot.
His wing man flew right beside him and got him back to land just by radio conversation.
Good wingman there.
RIP
Lieutenant Nathan Poloski, USN
Mighty Shrikes of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 94
Just ask my wife, about how I cannot tell the difference between "yeah" and "nah".
I tried to teach her to speak radio discipline and she went berserk, can you imagine?
It is my fault, of course.
It is not AM radio but the so-called “communications quality” bandwidth.When you only allow 300 to 3000 Hz ,or even less as is as being pushed as more efficient use of the spectrum, it becomes nearly impossible to recognize people different voices.English has many words and letters that can be confused.
I am sure that Michelle and Barry Obama will follow the example of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and attend the funerals of our fallen servicemen.
Find him
Do you hear
Find him.
We don’t pay you to give up.
You overlooked him, you dopes.
What if he is struggling to survive out there somewhere?
Get off your asses and find him.
Call off the search when you find him.
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