Posted on 10/15/2009 8:44:37 PM PDT by gura
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC (WIS) - Two Air Force F-16 jets based out of Shaw Air Force Base collided off the coast of South Carolina Thursday night, and one of them is missing.
Air Force officials said the fighters were assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing collided in mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean about 8:30pm on Thursday near Myrtle Beach. The aircraft were participating in night training maneuvers, officials said.
The aircraft carried one person each. One F-16 was able to land safely at Charleston AFB, and the pilot is being examined by Air Force medical personnel.
The location of the other F-16 and its pilot is unknown at this time. A search is underway involving the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and aircraft from Charleston AFB.
A board of officers will investigate the accident. As soon as additional details become available, they will be released.
I was praying for a surprise ending, and this wasn’t it. Prayers for his family.
Sad news indeed.
May the Lord comfort all who loved Captain Nicholas Giglio.
I can never repay the debt I owe.
Prayers for his family. Hopefully they can find him, and bring him home.
/johnny
RIP Capt Nicholas Giglio, USAF
Keep praying folks !
Please don’t give up on this man yet !
Possibility of both arms broken during ejection making activating anything useless pretty much. Hope and pray he’s floating and waiting for the PJ’s, Coasties and or Navy to find him !
Miracles do happen. Just not very often with fighter pilots, not counting startup, takeoff, and landings.
/johnny
My prayers are up.
I saw that a little while ago on the news. Thanks for the ping ... prayers for the family.
Not exactly ......there are manual and auto modes. In this case it should have been set to auto for a training mission. No water activation on profind’s etc......pull plug on the chute or manual activation by the aviator.
Prayers to the fallen and the family.
The investigation has begun into what caused last week’s collision of two F-16s collision off Charleston, in which a Shaw Air Force Base fighter pilot perished with his plane. Capt. Nicholas Giglio of Shaw’s 77th Fighter Squadron disappeared last Thursday evening after hitting the underside of his wingman’s F-16 about 19,000 feet above sea level. The two were flying in a two-ship fighter formation during routine training maneuvers.
The aircraft of Capt. Lee Bryant was severely damaged, but he was able to land safely at Charleston Air Force Base and suffered no injuries.
After a 48-hour search for Giglio and his plane, which yielded only small pieces of aircraft debris, the search was called off Saturday night. It had covered more than 8,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean about 30 nautical miles northeast of Charleston.
“If Capt. Giglio had ejected safely from the aircraft, we are confident that we would have found him,” said Capt. Michael F. McAllister, Coast Guard sector commander in Charleston.
Col. Joseph Guastella, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw, said that no trace of Giglio had been found, and that an analysis of Bryant’s plane indicated that the collision had been “traumatic.” Guastella also said that Giglio probably had died “instantly.”
“The speed and the geometry at which the aircraft hit breached Capt. Giglio’s canopy, and the injuries he sustained are most certainly fatal,” said Guastella. “He had no opportunity to eject from that aircraft. We will make every effort to recover Capt. Giglio’s aircraft and his remains. (And) we will continue to investigate this accident.”
GIGLIO
(high school photo)
Giglio, who was 32, leaves behind a wife, Leigh, who is pregnant, and a young daughter. The family lives in Sumter.
The Coast Guard, which led a search-and-rescue team of more than 200 workers and numerous aircraft and boats from the Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy, law enforcement and civilian population, is not involved in the recovery effort, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Bobby Nash.
“The Coast Guard does not typically participate in recovery missions unless we are specifically asked,” he said. “The aircraft belongs to the Air Force, so they will be taking care of that.”
According to the Public Affairs Office of Shaw Air Force Base, a safety investigation board has now convened at the base to investigate the mishap.
“Safety investigations and reports are conducted and written solely to prevent future mishaps,” said Lt. Col. Danny Palubeckis, the 20th Fighter Wing’s chief of safety. “During the course of the safety investigation, the board members are looking to find the cause or causes of the mishap in order to take preventative action and make recommendations to prevent future occurrences.”
The safety investigation board will conclude its assessment within 30 days, and an accident investigation board will begin its investigation into the incident.
Nonclassified information will be in the accident investigation board’s report, which will be available once the investigation is complete. Typically, that happens 60 to 90 days after a mishap.
http://www.theitem.com/article/20091021/ITNEWS01/710219963
http://www.theitem.com/article/20091022/ITNEWS01/710229868
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE -- "We are Team Shaw, and when one is not with us, we are not complete."
Those were the words spoken in prayer today by Capt. Lane Campbell, Shaw Air Force Base's 77th Fighter Squadron "Gamblers" chaplain, as he began the private memorial service honoring Capt. Nicholas Giglio, who died in an F-16 mid-air collision Oct. 15 off Charleston.
The base's Public Affairs Office shared highlights of the service in a news release issued this afternoon.
The service included the posting of the colors, a 77th Fighter Squadron roll call followed by the playing of "Taps" and a missing man flyover formation of F-16s.
Capt. Aaron Sick of the 77th played the piano while Bethany Locklear, wife of 1st Lt. Jameson Locklear with the 77th, sang the hymn "In Christ Alone" selected by the Giglio family, as well as the Air Force hymn, "Lord Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly."
Giglio's sister Carmen Giglio and Locklear shared memories of Capt. Giglio, who was 32, and Scripture readings.
"His dream and passion was always to fly," Carmen Giglio said. "Always, forever he will be in our hearts."
"I had really great things in store for this fighter pilot," said Lt. Col. Lance Kildron, 77th Fighter Squadron commander. "His time with us was too short."
"One more thing to say to Nick," he added. "Once a Gambler, always a Gambler."
The 77th Fighter Squadron flies a missing man formation during a memorial ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base for Captain Nicholas Giglio Oct. 22, 2009. Giglio was killed during a mid-air collision over the Atlantic last week.
Pilot error led to fatal F-16 crash
Air Force report also cites radar failure in mid-air collision
By ANNABELLE ROBERTSON
Item Staff Writer
arobertson@theitem.com
Air Force officials have determined that pilot error and radar failure caused the deadly October mid-air collision between two F-16 fighter jets from Shaw Air Force Base.
The crash, which took place on Oct. 15 off the coast of Charleston during nighttime training maneuvers, resulted in the death of Capt. Nicholas “Nick” Giglio of the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw.
Giglio’s jet hit the underside of his wingman’s F-16, which landed safely at nearby Charleston Air Force Base and sustained only moderate damage. The second F-16 was flown by Capt. Lee Bryant of the 77th Fighter Squadron, who was uninjured.
After striking Bryant’s plane, Giglio’s aircraft reportedly plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean about 19,000 feet below and disappeared into the water, which was as deep as 50 feet, said Coast Guard Commander of Section Charleston Capt. Michael McAllister, after the search was suspended. Giglio was not able to eject.
Despite an extensive search involving aircraft, helicopters, cutters and boats from the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, law enforcement and good Samaritans, who combed 8,000 square miles of the Atlantic during a collective 167 hours, neither Giglio nor his aircraft has ever been recovered. The loss of the jet is estimated at more than $26.9 million
According to the Air Force’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Board report, which was released Monday, the collision took place about 126 nautical miles southeast of Shaw, over the ocean. The pilots were involved in close air support training at the time, and Giglio, 32, was attempting to rejoin Bryant, who was leading the mission. The two pilots were on their return to Shaw.
“I find, by clear and convincing evidence, this mishap was caused by (Giglio’s) improper night rejoin,” wrote Maj. Gen. Stanley T. Kresge, president of the Accident Investigation Board, in the report’s statement of opinion. “Specifically, (Giglio) failed to reduce airspeed and establish the proper flight vector relative to (Bryant’s) aircraft. I also find that channelized attention substantially contributed to the mishap. (Giglio) experienced a radar failure which diverted his attention from completing a safe rejoin.”
Kresge wrote that both pilots were “well prepared for the mission,” and that Bryant was an experienced instructor pilot and flight examiner. Although Giglio was “inexperienced in the F-16,” he wrote, the pilot had nevertheless flown three night training exercises during the eight days before the incident. Giglio also demonstrated “average performance” during his mission qualification training, which he had completed one month before, Kresge said.
At the time of the crash, Lt. Col. Lance Kildron, commander of the 77th Fighter Squadron, told The Item that Giglio has been a fighter pilot for 18 months.
“During that short time, he’d distinguished himself as being a fine F-16 fighter pilot, and overall, personality-wise and just attitude, a great guy, and I’m happy to have him as part of my team,” Kildron said.
According to the accident report, both planes were fully operational, with the exception of Giglio’s radar. Giglio’s flight data recorder began transmitting a series of radar anomalies about 27 minutes before the crash, and was in the process of a “computer reset ... which rendered it periodically inoperative,” the report says. Giglio’s computer did not communicate any radar problems to Bryant’s computer until “just prior to the collision.”
“(Giglio) was wearing night vision goggles, which enable the pilot to maintain visual contact with another aircraft,” Kresge wrote, “but would not enable him to assess range and closure rate until very close range.”
Kresge concluded that the mishap was caused by Giglio’s “improper rejoin.” Kresge said Giglio “failed to slow” to the prescribed airspeed as he was trying to meet back up with Bryant’s jet.
“(Giglio’s) high power setting is inconsistent with a safe rejoin,” Kresge wrote.
Further, Kresge determined, “channelized attention prevented (Giglio) from recognizing and correcting the airspeed and flight path errors.”
“Channelized attention occurs when an individual focuses all conscious attention on a limited number of cues to the exclusion of others of a higher priority, leading to an unsafe situation,” he explained. “(Giglio’s) improper power setting, airspeed, flight path, his final radio call initiated five seconds prior to collision, and the lack of reaction to an impending collision, clearly indicate (Giglio) was not focused on accomplishing a safe rejoin.”
The F-16 was determined to have been destroyed upon impact.
Giglio is survived by his wife, Leigh, and their 15-month-old daughter, Grace, who are both residents of Sumter. The couple had been married for about 10 years at the time of the collision. Leigh Giglio, who was pregnant at the time, is due to give birth in the coming weeks.
Fare well airman. You have your wings.
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