BajaMike
06-23-2007, 10:20 PM
I just happened on this on Wikipedia.....happened back in 1994....
http://www.rob.com/pic/B52_crash/B52CRSH2.jpg
"The B-52 crash at Fairchild Air Force Base was a fatal air crash that occurred on June 24, 1994, killing the four crew members of a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 Stratofortress during a training flight. In the crash, Bud Holland, who was the command pilot of the aircraft based at Fairchild Air Force Base, call sign Czar 52, flew the aircraft beyond its operational parameters and lost control.
As a result, the aircraft stalled, hit the ground, and was completely destroyed. Video of the crash was shown throughout the United States on news broadcasts.
The accident investigation concluded that the chain of events leading to the crash was primarily attributable to Holland's personality and behavior, USAF leaders' reactions to it, and the sequence of events during the mishap flight of the aircraft.
Today, the crash is used in military and civilian aviation environments as a case study in teaching crew resource management. Also, the crash is often used by the USAF and US Army during safety training as an example of the importance of compliance with safety regulations and correcting the behavior of anyone who violates safety procedures.
"At 07:30 local time (Pacific Time Zone) on June 24, 1994, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, a USAF B-52H bomber crew stationed at Fairchild prepared to practice an aircraft demonstration flight for an upcoming air show. The crew consisted of pilots Arthur "Bud" Holland (46 years old), Mark McGeehan (38), Robert Wolff (46), and weapon systems officer/radar navigator Ken Huston (41).
Holland was the designated command pilot for the flight, with McGeehan as the copilot and Wolff designated as a safety observer. Holland, McGeehan, and Huston were lieutenant colonels and Wolff was a colonel. Holland was the chief of the 92nd Bomb Wing's Standardization and Evaluation branch, McGeehan was the commander of the 325th Bomb Squadron, Wolff was the vice commander of the 92nd Bomb Wing, and Huston was the 325th Bomb Squadron's operations officer.[1]
The mission plan for the flight called for a demanding series of low-altitude passes, 60 degree banked turns, a steep climb, and a touch-and-go landing on Fairchild's Runway 23. The flight was also Wolff's "fini flight"a common tradition in which a retiring USAF aircrew member is met shortly after landing on his or her final flight at the airfield by relatives, friends, and coworkers, and doused with water.
Thus, Wolff's wife and many of his close friends were at the airfield to watch the flight and participate in the post-flight ceremony. McGeehan's wife and two youngest sons watched the flight from the backyard of McGeehan's living quarters, located nearby.[2]
The B-52 aircraft launched at 13:58 and completed most of the mission's elements without incident. Upon preparing to execute the touch-and-go on Runway 23 at the end of the practice profile, the aircraft was instructed to go-around because a KC-135 aircraft had just landed and was on the runway. Maintaining an altitude of about 250 feet above ground level (AGL), Holland radioed the control tower and asked for permission to execute a 360 degree left turn, which was immediately granted by the tower controller.
The B-52 then began the 360 degree left turn around the tower starting from about the midfield point of the runway. Located a short distance behind the tower was an area of restricted (no fly) airspace, reportedly because of a nuclear weapons storage facility.[3]
To avoid flying through the restricted airspace, Holland apparently flew the aircraft in an extremely tight, steeply banked turn while maintaining the low, 250-foot AGL altitude.
Approximately three quarters of the way around the turn, at 14:16, the aircraft banked past 90 degrees, descended rapidly, and hit the ground, exploding and killing the four crew members.
Although McGeehan attempted to eject, the ejection sequence was interrupted by the crash before he could clear the aircraft. No one on the ground was physically injured. The crash was videotaped and the video was shown repeatedly on news broadcasts throughout the United States.[4]
Very sad.....
http://www.rob.com/pic/B52_crash/B52CRSH2.jpg
"The B-52 crash at Fairchild Air Force Base was a fatal air crash that occurred on June 24, 1994, killing the four crew members of a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 Stratofortress during a training flight. In the crash, Bud Holland, who was the command pilot of the aircraft based at Fairchild Air Force Base, call sign Czar 52, flew the aircraft beyond its operational parameters and lost control.
As a result, the aircraft stalled, hit the ground, and was completely destroyed. Video of the crash was shown throughout the United States on news broadcasts.
The accident investigation concluded that the chain of events leading to the crash was primarily attributable to Holland's personality and behavior, USAF leaders' reactions to it, and the sequence of events during the mishap flight of the aircraft.
Today, the crash is used in military and civilian aviation environments as a case study in teaching crew resource management. Also, the crash is often used by the USAF and US Army during safety training as an example of the importance of compliance with safety regulations and correcting the behavior of anyone who violates safety procedures.
"At 07:30 local time (Pacific Time Zone) on June 24, 1994, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, a USAF B-52H bomber crew stationed at Fairchild prepared to practice an aircraft demonstration flight for an upcoming air show. The crew consisted of pilots Arthur "Bud" Holland (46 years old), Mark McGeehan (38), Robert Wolff (46), and weapon systems officer/radar navigator Ken Huston (41).
Holland was the designated command pilot for the flight, with McGeehan as the copilot and Wolff designated as a safety observer. Holland, McGeehan, and Huston were lieutenant colonels and Wolff was a colonel. Holland was the chief of the 92nd Bomb Wing's Standardization and Evaluation branch, McGeehan was the commander of the 325th Bomb Squadron, Wolff was the vice commander of the 92nd Bomb Wing, and Huston was the 325th Bomb Squadron's operations officer.[1]
The mission plan for the flight called for a demanding series of low-altitude passes, 60 degree banked turns, a steep climb, and a touch-and-go landing on Fairchild's Runway 23. The flight was also Wolff's "fini flight"a common tradition in which a retiring USAF aircrew member is met shortly after landing on his or her final flight at the airfield by relatives, friends, and coworkers, and doused with water.
Thus, Wolff's wife and many of his close friends were at the airfield to watch the flight and participate in the post-flight ceremony. McGeehan's wife and two youngest sons watched the flight from the backyard of McGeehan's living quarters, located nearby.[2]
The B-52 aircraft launched at 13:58 and completed most of the mission's elements without incident. Upon preparing to execute the touch-and-go on Runway 23 at the end of the practice profile, the aircraft was instructed to go-around because a KC-135 aircraft had just landed and was on the runway. Maintaining an altitude of about 250 feet above ground level (AGL), Holland radioed the control tower and asked for permission to execute a 360 degree left turn, which was immediately granted by the tower controller.
The B-52 then began the 360 degree left turn around the tower starting from about the midfield point of the runway. Located a short distance behind the tower was an area of restricted (no fly) airspace, reportedly because of a nuclear weapons storage facility.[3]
To avoid flying through the restricted airspace, Holland apparently flew the aircraft in an extremely tight, steeply banked turn while maintaining the low, 250-foot AGL altitude.
Approximately three quarters of the way around the turn, at 14:16, the aircraft banked past 90 degrees, descended rapidly, and hit the ground, exploding and killing the four crew members.
Although McGeehan attempted to eject, the ejection sequence was interrupted by the crash before he could clear the aircraft. No one on the ground was physically injured. The crash was videotaped and the video was shown repeatedly on news broadcasts throughout the United States.[4]
Very sad.....