Former T-Bird pilot credited with saving team after tragedy

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2001 | 10:23 a.m.

A wall of the VIP room in the Thunderbirds Museum at Nellis Air Force Base is covered with pictures of former pilots with the elite squadron who went on to become generals.

The most prominently placed photograph is that of Gen. Bill Creech, whom a museum spokesman, Staff Sgt. Jason Haag, calls "the father of the Thunderbirds."

The unofficial title stems from Creech's rescuing the unit from a congressional chopping block following the deaths of four Thunderbirds pilots who were killed on Jan. 18, 1982, near Indian Springs while training.

"It is called the 'diamond crash,' " Haag said. "The four pilots were flying in a diamond formation when the engine in the commander's plane malfunctioned and he couldn't pull out of a dive. The other pilots are trained to watch the commander's plane. They followed him into the ground.

"After that there was a hard look at our program by Congress."

Creech, who had been a Thunderbirds pilot from 1954 to 1955, was a four-star general at the time of the crash, an air combat commander with 34 bases under him, including Nellis.

"There was a lot of sniping from Congress," said Creech, who retired in 1984 and lives in Henderson.

He was a strong believer in the Thunderbirds' mission, which is to inspire young people to join the Air Force and to demonstrate to Americans what they are getting for their tax dollars.

Creech had also been with the Skyblazers -- the Air Force's version of the Thunderbirds in Europe -- from 1956 to 1959. The Skyblazers were created in 1948 and disbanded in 1961.

"I saw the impact the (demonstration pilots) had and I was a great believer in the mission," Creech recalled. "It was an important mission. There was a recruiting problem. A lot of people who joined got the idea first from seeing the Thunderbirds. That's what we're trying to show, not only young Johnny but also Mom and Pop, what they do for the country. That's what makes it so important."

And so he went to bat for the Thunderbirds, taking his argument to Congress and to members of the executive branch.

"While the accident and fatality record of the pilots was nothing to brag about, overall they did a splendid job," Creech said.

Creech noted that from June 1953 through December 1981, during 29 seasons of shows, there had been 36 major accidents and 24 pilots were killed.

Between 1973 and 1982 the Thunderbirds flew a T-38 trainer jet, a fuel-efficient plane drafted because of the fuel crisis that began in 1973.

The trainer, Creech said, was not suitable for the demonstrations put on by the squadron and he convinced the government that if the Thunderbirds were given F-16 fighters there would be no problems.

He said if there were any accidents after the new planes were brought in, he would resign his commission.

When he retired in 1984 he left behind a squadron of fighter pilots that was accident free. Since the 1982 tragedy there have been no fatalities and only one minor accident.