Lt. Col. Ira S. Eadie
Posted on 09/22/2016 12:10:03 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- The pilot who was killed when a U-2 crashed shortly after takeoff Sept. 20 has been identified as Lt. Col. Ira S. Eadie, according to Air Force officials.
Eadie, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, and another pilot ejected from the two-seater reconnaissance aircraft before it crashed at about 9:05 a.m. near the Sutter Buttes mountain range in northern California. The other pilot, who was not identified, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and is in good condition at a local medical facility.
The U-2 was assigned to the 1st RS at Beale Air Force Base and was on a training mission.
The incident is currently under investigation.
Lt. Col. Ira S. Eadie
Prayers for his loved ones.
RIP Lt. Col Eadie.
RIP Ltd. COLLAPSED. RIP
Prayers up for you and yours brave sir.
Spell check sucks
I’m surprised the Air Force still uses these planes. When I first saw the headline, I thought it was a “This Day in History” story from several decades ago ... or a parody headline next to another story about the U.S. Army running low on musket balls.
I see. I was about to type: “WTF?” LOL.
How do we know it was a U2 and not an experimental successor of some sort? Hmmmm?
I wonder what took Lt. Col. Eadie's life?
Video: http://www.kcra.com/news/harrowing-witness-video-shows-u2-spy-plane-crash-in-sutter-buttes/41748404
Thank you. DEFINITELY a U2. Was that a white puff of smoke? Wouldn’t an engine flame-out be black smoke? Oxygen tanks (for high altitude flight) aboard burst, maybe?
Watch the video and you’ll know it is a U-2 — looks like a sailplane.
I can't imagine any explosion onboard that would cause a white plume of smoke. More likely dark gray or black smoke.
I wonder what took Lt. Col. Eadie’s life?
...
Ejecting from a U2 is probably very dangerous. It’s possible he hit the canopy or the plane.
Since the U-2 first entered operational service, only 1,000 pilots have qualified to fly the Dragon Lady, including Lt Col Eadie. In fact, #1,000 just passed his final check ride about two weeks ago. He was part of a very proud and elite group of aviators.
There are lots of challenges in flying the U-2. As many know, the aircraft’s optimum cruise speed is less than 20 kts above stall. Much of the mission is flown on autopilot, but when pilot is on the controls, there is little margin for error. “Some days,” one pilot said, “you’re just trying to hang while she tries to kill you.”
And, you’re flying in a pressure suit, breathing 100% pure oxygen. The pilots suit up well in advance and go on 100% O2 an hour before they go the jet. Then, they’re strapped into a small cockpit before launching on missions that typically last 10 hours.
After that many hours in the air, the pilots come back tired, hungry and facing one of their greatest challenges: getting the U-2 back on the ground. With their pressure suit, peripheral vision is limited and the jet’s design further limits downward visibility. So, as they come in for a landing, another U-2 pilot follows them down the runway in a chase car, calling out their altitude so the flare can be properly timed and the plane lands as gently as possible.
One more thought: the Captain with Lt Col Eadie was applying for a U-2 slot; the orientation flight was part of the screening process. While the Captain was an experienced aviator, his knowledge of the U-2 was obviously limited. So after Eadie fought to control the aircraft, he then had to put it into a position for their ejection. His actions undoubtedly saved the life of the other pilot.
It takes a special human being to fly the U-2. Lt Col Eadie was one of them.
A couple of personal anecdotes. During my tour in Korea, I got a tour of the U-2 intel support element, located (as I recall) in the Hardened Tactical Air Control Center (HTACC). On the monitors, you could see the live feed from the radar sensors, if the jet was carrying them that day. They also had an impressive collection of images from the electro-optical camera that was part of the sensor package. All the sensors were controlled from the ground; they normally checked “focus” by pointing them at the monstrous skyscraper built by the Kims in downtown Pyongyang.
As my guide led me through the facility, he explained the job of each member of the intel team. I noticed one young airman who was also on headset, but apparently looking at a paperback. “She’s the reader,” I was told. “The plane’s on autopilot and there’s not much for the pilot to do (for much of the mission). So, many of the pilots would drop off a book at the HTACC, which would be “read” to them during the mission, to help fight off boredom.
Later, as a crew dog (EC-130s), I would occasionally communicate with one of the first female U-2 pilots during missions over the Balkans. Never learned her name, but she had one of the most memorable voices I have ever heard.
The U2 and the SR 71Blackbirds flew out of Beale while I was living in Sutter County you would occasionally see one overhead. To call the Sutter Buttes where it crashed is technically ok it’s in the Guiness Book as the smallest mountain range in the world. They are basically volcanic in origin rising hundreds of feet in the middle of a very flat Sacramento-Feather River watershed area.
RIP Lt Col! You now soar on wings like an Eagle!
Freegards
LEX
Yeah, I turned it off on my samsung 4, this 7 is a little different.
The video picks up after the two have already ejected, but it does show the aircraft coming straight down in a flat spin.
The plot of Top Gun had their F-14 in a flat spin when they ejected, and Goose hit the canopy when his seat fired. Top Gun writer Jim Cash said he wrote that scene based on real events.
If the U-2 was in an unrecoverable spin when the pilots elected to eject, the same could easily have happened to Lt. Col. Eadie.
I do know that the plane operated in the “coffin corner” where the KIAS difference between an aerodynamic stall and mach buffet was only a few knots. When making a turn, the aircraft would lose 500’ altitude but after roll out, be able to climb back to the original altitude.
Sad to hear of another pilot loss in the U-2.
RIP, LtCol Eadie
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