Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Thunderbirds may be grounded for Nellis show

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Air Force officials are not saying how long the Thunderbirds will be grounded in the wake of Sunday's crash in Idaho, and that leaves the team's performance in question for November's air show at Nellis Air Force Base.

The show at Nellis is set to be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Thunderbirds.

Chuck Ramey, Nellis spokesman, said today that even if the Thunderbirds can't fly at their own party, "the air show will go on with or without a performance by the Thunderbirds."

A Nellis official said this morning that command-level officers are deliberating as to how long to keep the team from flying. After a crash it is typical for the military to keep similar planes from flying unnecessarily until they have a good idea as to the cause of the crash. That's to guard against other planes crashing due to a similar cause such as a mechanical problem, for example.

The Nellis air show, "Aviation Nation," is scheduled for Nov. 15-16 and is expected to draw more than 300,000 people.

About 85,000 spectators were at at Mountain Home Air Force Base's "Gunfighter Skies 2003" airshow in Idaho on Sunday afternoon when a member of the Thunderbirds lost control of his F-16, causing the jet to dive into the ground.

The pilot of the F-16C, Capt. Chris Stricklin, 31, ejected safely and was taken to a medical facility on base, where he was evaluated and released, said Capt. Donna Gindle, a reserve public affairs officer.

According to witnesses, the jet was the last of the six to take off as part of a precision-flying demonstration by the Thunderbirds. It climbed straight into the sky and the pilot performed a barrel roll.

While upside down, the pilot maneuvered the jet into a dive. As the jet continued to dive, it appeared to have an engine failure when the pilot struggled to pull up, witnesses said.

The pilot ejected and parachuted to safety far from the crash site, witnesses said. He waved to spectators.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene to protect onlookers from possibly dangerous gas fumes and flying debris, from the nearly $23 million plane.

The team was grounded as a result of the crash, and Nellis officials said this morning that they did not know when the the Thunderbirds would resume demonstration flights.

In April 1999 the team was grounded for approximately two months after two of the F-16 bumped wings in midair at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. Both of the pilots involved managed to land their planes safely.

One of the deadliest military crashes in Southern Nevada involved the Thunderbirds in 1982. The "Diamond Crash" occurred on Jan. 18, 1982 at Indian Springs when four Thunderbird pilots crashed and were killed.

The four were flying T-38 jets, in a diamond formation, when they crashed.

Sun reporter

Jace Radke and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

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