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Thunderbird pilot dies in crash at Nellis AFB
April 05, 2018, 09:43 PM
4x5Thunderbird pilot dies in crash at Nellis AFB
Very sad. RIP Major Del Bagno.
https://www.heraldextra.com/ne...a4-72f7913b3924.html 
quote:
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron Slot Pilot Thunderbird 4, Maj. Stephen Del Bagno was killed in the crash of his F-16 Fighting Falcon jet during training over the Nevada desert, the service said Thursday.
According to his biography, Del Bagno was a 2005 graduate of Utah Valley State University, now known as Utah Valley University.
The jet went down around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday during a routine aerial demonstration training flight over the remote Nevada Test and Training Range, according to a statement from Nellis Air Force Base, where the Thunderbirds are based.
“We are mourning the loss of Major Del Bagno,” said Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing Commander, in a press release. “He was an integral part of our team and our hearts are heavy with his loss. We ask everyone to provide his family and friends the space to heal during this difficult time.”
An investigation of the crash was underway and the Thunderbirds' appearance this weekend at March Air Reserve Base in California was canceled.
The Air Force said it was not known how the accident will impact the remainder of the 2018 Thunderbirds season.
The incident was the third U.S. military aircraft crash this week.
Four crew members were killed when a Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed Tuesday in California during a training mission along the U.S.-Mexico border west of El Centro. The same day, a Marine Harrier jet crashed during takeoff from an airport in the East African nation of Djibouti. The pilot ejected.
The Air Force formed the Thunderbirds in 1953. The team's worst accident was the "Diamond Crash" in 1982. Four pilots were killed when their planes went down at Thunderbird Lake. A malfunction in the leader's plane led him and the three others to crash in the diamond formation straight into the desert.
Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice - pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ April 05, 2018, 09:50 PM
BisleyblackhawkDamn
...RIP Major...I hate to hear of such things...prayers for you and loved ones as well as your squadron at this loss.
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"we've gotta roll with the punches, learn to play all of our hunches
Making the best of what ever comes our way
Forget that blind ambition and learn to trust your intuition
Plowing straight ahead come what may
And theres a cowboy in the jungle"
Jimmy Buffet
April 05, 2018, 11:42 PM
coloradohunter44So sorry to hear. RIP sir.
"Someday I hope to be half the man my bird-dog thinks I am."
looking forward to 4 years of TRUMP!
April 06, 2018, 06:03 AM
BurtonRWRIP, Major.
I predict that there will be many suggestions and statements about the law made here, and some of them will be spectacularly wrong. - jhe888
A=A April 06, 2018, 07:21 AM
hberttmankVery sorry to hear this. RIP Major.
"But, as luck would have it, he stood up. He caught that chunk of lead." Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock
"If there's one thing this last week has taught me, it's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it." Clarence Worley April 06, 2018, 07:51 AM
RHINOWSORIP.
April 06, 2018, 08:05 AM
Snake207April 06, 2018, 09:27 AM
svick25RIP Major
April 06, 2018, 10:31 AM
Pipe SmokerVery sorry to hear of this.
No details for cause of crash yet. But the Thunderbird and Blue Angels pilots don’t wear g-suits during their demonstration flights. The reason for that: the automatic inflation/deflation can disrupt fine control, which is a danger while they’re flying in such close formation. To prevent blackout during high-g maneuvers, they tense their abdominal and leg muscles. There was a crash (in Florida, as I recall) a couple of tears ago that was attributed to pilot blackout.
Serious about crackers. April 06, 2018, 10:39 AM
sigmonkeyT-bird pilots wear anti G-suits.
The Blues pilots don't.
With or without a suit, all perform AGSM when at onset of G-s.
"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב! April 06, 2018, 10:56 AM
Pipe SmokerThanks for the correction. While verifying your comment, I came across this interesting factoid:
‘The "Thunderbird" F-16 aircraft are equipped with a special hydrazine-powered back-up power supply which provides stand-by electricity and hydraulics in case of engine failure.’
Serious about crackers. April 06, 2018, 11:15 AM
sigmonkeyAll F-16's have the EPU.
The hydrazine bottle sits in the right side upper area to the rear of the canopy and the EPU is behind that.
In the event of an engine and or generator failure, the EPU will supply electrical power, to maintain instrument and flight controls and flight control computers, by catalytic conversion of hydrazine when in contact with iridium.
Any one in the work area of F-16s has to have training on Hydrazine/HAZMAT procedures.
The PPM is so small, that a ping pong ball in a fright car full of ping pong balls is the ratio that was considered "un-healthy".
Hydrazine decomposes when released, and if you "smell ammonia", you have breathed way more than you should.
Aircraft are sneaky and have many ways to kill you, or hurt your feelings.
"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!