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Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 8:33 pm
by Airshow4444
Latest from the Thunderbirds. Pilot and Maintainer on board at the time.
https://www.facebook.com/AFThunderbirds ... 3158909246
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 9:16 pm
by Airshow4444
Thunderbird #1 says that injuries are non-life threatening. Backseater had no visible injuries. Doing "just fine." Pilot had lacerations and injuries to leg but is in stable to good condition and doing well.
Pilot was Capt. Erik "Speedy" Gonsalves. Tech Sargent Kenneth Cordova was the backseater. He was on a familiarization flight.
Pilot:
http://afthunderbirds.com/site/team_mem ... gonsalves/
Maintainer:
http://afthunderbirds.com/site/team_mem ... h-cordova/
Plane took off around 10:30 am this morning. Weather at the time met the criteria for the flight. He flew an instrument procedure approach to recover to the base. Mishap happened after landing on Runway 6L.
An accident safety board will investigate and the results will be made public.
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 9:25 pm
by Airshow4444
Thunderbird #1 says that the team will NOT be flying on Saturday. Unsure if they will fly Sunday.
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 8:39 pm
by RyanS
The Thunderbirds announced on Facebook that they will not perform on Sunday. Of course this was only announced after the Saturday show had concluded. "Speedy" remains in the hospital.
https://www.facebook.com/AirshowStuff/p ... 45/?type=3
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 10:58 pm
by awal2049
I keep reading that the Thunderbirds have been "grounded" after the crash. Does that mean they'll just sit the weekend out or will there be a mandatory stand down period like last year?
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 4:04 am
by RyanS
awal2049 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 24, 2017 10:58 pm
I keep reading that the Thunderbirds have been "grounded" after the crash. Does that mean they'll just sit the weekend out or will there be a mandatory stand down period like last year?
I don't expect it will last past this weekend, but I'm not surprised they canceled these two show days. We'll see if they announce anything further I guess
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 11:26 pm
by RyanS
I just shared this video on our Facebook page, the flipped F-16 is definitely done for! They broke the entire front of the fuselage off from the rest.
https://www.facebook.com/AirshowStuff/p ... 1041107345
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 11:27 pm
by RyanS
Re: Thunderbird F-16 Flips at Dayton Airshow
Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:49 am
by RyanS
Looks like the wreckage photos and video have been removed, but good news is that the team will return to flying operations with a practice tomorrow!
https://airshowstuff.com/v4/2017/thunde ... -incident/