F-16 Thunderbird crashes, flips over at Dayton International Airport

CBS/AP ^ | Jun 23, 2017 | /Ty Greenlees/WHIO

[pfflier]

DAYTON, Ohio -- A military plane that was practicing for an air show in heavy fog has crashed at an airport in Ohio, officials said Friday.

CBS affiliate WHIO-TV reports an F-16 Thunderbird crashed and overturned shortly before 1 p.m. at the end of a runway at Dayton International Airport.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds confirmed crew members were "conducting a familiarization flight" and "there was a mishap upon landing."

[pfflier]

Two people were onboard the aircraft. Authorities say one of the pilots has been extricated from the plane. Crews are working to remove the second pilot form the aircraft.

[pgyanke]

Was the second person a pilot or local dignitary? These practice sessions are often used for promotional purposes.

[Chainmail]

Very lucky it didn’t burn.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I always thought the F-16 was called Fighting Falcon, not Thunderbird.

[laplata]

The US Air Force Thunderbirds fly F-16 Fighting Falcons.

[KarlInOhio]

An Air Force sergeant, presumably one of the enlisted members of the ground crew.

[KarlInOhio]

Heavy fog? It has been pouring rain all day in Dayton, so I doubt there was any fog. I love the MSM just making up their “facts”.

[pfflier]

I suspect the second person was a local media type on an incentive flight. Thursday before an airshow is typically media day.

[KarlInOhio]

Also the passenger was safely removed a long time ago, about a half hour after the pilot. Both were in the hospital in good condition. Thepilot was reported to have some lacerations on his legs.

[pfflier]

The Thunderbirds are the USAF aerial demonstration team.

They Fly the F-16. It is alternately called the "Fighting Falcon" (it's official name) or the "Viper" the name commonly used by the rest of the USAF.

[servo1969]

Man, that’s a $18.8 million (FY98) “mishap.”
($28.2 million in 2017 dollars.)

[pfflier]

An Air Force sergeant, presumably one of the enlisted members of the ground crew.

That explains the second person. He is the crew chief for Thunderbird #7 (The F-16B 2 seater).

This also indicates that #7 (also he is the narrator) was just arriving at Dayton as part of the advance team.

[pfflier]

All in all that is great news. Thanks for telling us the condition of the crew. It is always a concern when we hear about a crash.

[KarlInOhio]

If it was destroyed. The plane looked intact, other than the upside down part. One theory was that it hydroplaned on landing, slid off the side of the runway and flipped over when the wheel hit the mud.

[Bob]

Excuse me, sir. Did you miss flight school the day they taught what “Wheels Up” means?

[KarlInOhio]

The Thunderbirds have difficulty with “shiny side up, greasy side down” because they keep both sides shiny.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

You mean a TV-station “journalist” didn’t bother with simple fact-checking? I’m shocked.

[ought-six]

The F-16 is the Falcon, not the Thunderbird.

[pfflier]

I’m pretty sure I explained exactly that in post #10 in this thread.

[pfflier]

The photos showed wheels were down. My guess is that he skidded off the side of the runway then flipped when one of the mains hit the grass.

IMO The F-16 has a decent anti-skid system (I helped build them while working at GD). Their shortcoming is a fairly narrow main gear base.