Posted on 11/30/2017 11:40:47 AM PST by JP1201
The commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds has been relieved of command due to loss of confidence in his leadership, the service announced.
With the season complete, Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing commander, relieved Lt. Col. Jason Heard of overseeing the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, Air Combat Command said in a release.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Anybody know him? As a rule, Obama fired as many good commanders as possible, and now Trump is firing the bad ones. I hope that’s the case.
Thunderbirds are, uh, not Go!
“In 2016, the Thunderbirds had a mishap after an accidental throttle rotation led to a malfunction and subsequent engine stall that caused the No. 6 jet to crash.
It happened after a flyover of the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation on June 2, 2016, attended by then-President Barack Obama.”
Uh...NO!
The pilot ran out of gas because Obama screwed with his previously planned departure schedule.
Pilot couldn’t land as scheduled.
The pilot didn’t run out of gas. It was accidental throttle rotation. Good grief...
I don’t know about this guy, but I know the Blue Angels have brought back a number of previous members in the last few years.
I’m sure a woman will do much better. Wonder if she ever flew as a Thunderbird. /s/
Used to love watching that show in England back in the 60’s. Of course, there were only 2 channels back then I think!
A close friend of mine who died 4-5 years ago was the Commander of the Thunderbirds at one time. I just gave my nephew a Thunderbirds cookbook that he signed and gave me when I retired in 2005.
USAF Accident Investigation Board Final Report
On 2 June 2016 at 13:00 local time an F-16CJ was destroyed by ground impact after the Mishap Pilot (MP) ejected south of Peterson Air Force Base (AFB), CO. The MP sustained a minor injury and no other personnel were injured. The Mishap Aircraft (MA) Tail Number 92-3890 and the MP are assigned to the 57th Wing, United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron (USAFADS), Nellis AFB, NV. The MA, valued at $29,466,037.00 (total government loss), was destroyed. There was no known damage to civilian property.
The mishap occurred as part of a six F-16 aircraft, USAFADS flyby and airshow combination for a United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony, Colorado Springs, CO. The mission was uneventful until the MA entered the Peterson AFB traffic pattern in preparation for landing. When the MA was positioned on downwind (parallel to, and opposing the active landing runway), the highly experienced MP inadvertently placed the throttle to cutoff position (engine shutdown). This normally requires both (a) an actuation of the throttle cutoff release trigger switch (throttle trigger), which then permits (b) full throttle grip rotation outboard -- enabling the throttle to be retarded aft (pulled backwards), past the cutoff stop. Below the minimum altitude/airspeed required for either an engine restart or flame-out landing, the MP was forced to eject over a grass field in El Paso County, CO.
The throttle trigger must be physically actuated (depressed, squeezed, pulled) to overcome the spring-force in its un-actuated position. Analysis by Air Force Research Laboratory/Materials Integrity Branch identified intermittent sticking/binding of the MA throttle trigger, causing the throttle trigger to remain in the retracted/stuck position after actuation. The throttle trigger bushing was examined and determined to be damaged and worn due to throttle trigger clevis pin misalignment, along with metallic-particle debris contamination -- both increasing the chance of throttle trigger sticking/binding. In addition, lubricant to the throttle trigger assembly was identified (inconsistent with maintenance technical orders), which exacerbated the debris contamination condition.
The Accident Investigation Board President found by a preponderance of the evidence the cause of this mishap was a throttle trigger actuation and subsequent malfunction (throttle trigger stuck in retracted position) followed by the MP’s inadvertent full-rotation of the throttle grip while retarding the throttle aft to cutoff position. Substantially contributing factors include maintenance Technical Orders that lack sufficient detail to consistently identify either a throttle trigger clevis pin misalignment or a sticking/binding throttle trigger.
...
e. Fuel, Hydraulic, and Oil Inspection Analyses
Samples from both the fuel trucks and hydraulic oil cart were taken prior to the mishap sortie on 2 June 2016 (Tab U-2). The 99th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s Fuel Laboratory at Nellis AFB, NV analyzed those samples and did not report any volatile contamination in either the fuel servicing vehicles or the hydraulic oil servicing cart (Tab U-3). According to the Lockheed Martin (LM) analysis the DAS showed fuel was available to the engine throughout the recorded data up to ground impact (Tab EE-35). Additionally, a photo of the wreckage cockpit (see Figure 5 below) showed the fuel gauge indictor at approximately 900 pounds of fuel (Tab Z-13). Finally, the LM analysis shows the hydraulic and engine oil systems maintained within the normal operating limits until the MA’s impact (Tab EE-34).
I remember Fireball XL5.
They had yet another crash at the Dayton OH air show in 2017.
How about has she ever flown jet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=87&v=6jIYan27Jjg
It is almost unbelievable how much contempt Obama has for our military.
He should have been impeached for putting someone under his command into such a position.
Or in combat or in any tactical situation?
The final AIB report hasn’t been published for that one yet.
That’s great! Now I’ve got that song in my head - we used to sing it when we were kids.
The poor guy thought he was pulling it to flight idle and instead he stop-cocked the thing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.