Air Force releases details of crash of Thunderbirds’ jet

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004 | 9:55 a.m.

Air Force officials were expected this morning to release details of the investigation into the September crash of an F-16 during the performance of the Thunderbirds at an air show in Idaho.

About 85,000 spectators were at Mountain Home Air Force Base's Gunfighter Skies 2003 air show on Sept. 14 when one of the red, white and blue F-16s based at Nellis Air Force Base crashed to the ground and exploded in a ball of fire.

The pilot, Capt. Chris Stricklin, 31, ejected safely and no one in the crowd was injured, but the incident did cause the team to miss several shows in 2003.

Stricklin was flying plane No. 6, also known as the "opposing solo." While four of the F-16s do different maneuvers while flying in a tight formation, Stricklin and another pilot known as the "lead solo" fly maneuvers in which they pass by each other at high speeds.

Last year was Stricklin's first season with the Thunderbirds, and he has more than 1,500 hours of flying time as an Air Force pilot.

Stricklin, who is from Shelby, Ala., crashed his F-16C while performing a "Split S," a maneuver that forces the pilot to barrel roll and then go into a dive mimicking the shape of the letter S.

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

While upside down, Stricklin maneuvered the jet into a dive. As the jet continued to dive, it appeared to have an engine failure, and Stricklin ejected seconds before the crash, witnesses said.

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

The Thunderbirds team and schedule for 2004 are also expected to be announced at today's news conference at Nellis. Thunderbird officials would not confirm Stricklin's status with the team for the upcoming season, but the Thunderbird website still lists Stricklin as the team's opposing solo.

The crash came during the 50th anniversary year of the team, which has flown more than 4,500 shows for more than 300 million spectators across the globe. The unit moved to Nellis from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in 1956.

Stricklin's crash is one of many that the team has had to overcome during the last half century.

In April 1999 the team was grounded for approximately two months after two of the F-16s bumped wings in mid-air 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. The Thunderbirds fly six planes in their shows, and the unit behind the planes totals about 130 people. The unit has 12 officers, eight of whom are pilots, with six of the pilots flying the demonstrations. The remaining two pilots serve as a safety officer and the narrator who calls out the team's maneuvers over a microphone to spectators.