Thunderbirds cleared for takeoff

David Kihara

Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2005 | 11:15 a.m.

The Air Force Thunderbirds will perform Saturday in Westfield, Mass., despite an incident on Saturday in which two F-16s touched in midair, causing a 4-foot long missile rail to plummet into Lake Michigan.

The incident prompted the Thunderbirds to cut short their performance at the Chicago Air & Water Show and cancel a second show set for Sunday.

No one was hurt in that incident. Reports stated that the rail fell at least 2,500 feet from spectators.

The Thunderbirds previously canceled upcoming shows pending an investigation into the incident, and Thunderbird spokesman Master Sgt. George Jozens said Monday morning that the team's performance at the Aviation Nation show at Nellis Air Force Base Nov. 12-13 might need to be canceled because these types of investigations typically take 90 days to complete.

But on Monday, Thunderbird officials stated that they reviewed procedures after the F-16 fighter jets bumped each other and decided to go forward with the air show Saturday.

"If it wasn't safe, we wouldn't do it," Jozens said.

While the investigation into what caused the two jets to touch on Saturday is still ongoing, Jozens said a preliminary investigation has established that it is safe to fly.

The two pilots involved in Saturday's incident, Maj. Chris Callaghan Maj. Steve Horton, are slated to perform in Massachusetts, Jozens said.

Callaghan and Horton are under investigation for Saturday's accident, as is typical in such an incident, he said. The Air Force is also looking at the aircrafts, training and operating procedures, he said.

He said that while there is always a potential for something to go wrong, he was confident that all safety measures are being taken.

"We're flying about 2 feet apart at 350 miles per hour, so there is always a potential (for something to go wrong), and we do things as safe as possible," Jozens said.

Capt. Angela Johnson, spokeswoman for the Thunderbirds, said the Thunderbirds will also perform the same maneuver in which the two planes touched -- a diamond formation.

"It's a perfectly safe maneuver -- they wouldn't do it if it wasn't," she said, adding that the Thunderbirds have done it for years.

The Thunderbirds will continue practices this week near Creech Air Force Base -- formerly Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field -- and are set to leave on Thursday for a two-week tour of performances in Westfield, Atlantic City, N.J., and Cleveland.

Lt. Col. Mike Chandler, the team commander, said he did not know when the full investigation will be complete. He said the inquiry will look at all factors related to the incident, including the in-air maneuver and procedures.

Chandler said Horton and Callaghan were not aware that their aircrafts had bumped each other, and it was only after a safety observer on the ground saw it that the Thunderbirds were alerted to the problem.

The last time two Thunderbirds made contact in the air was in 1999, officials said.

A Thunderbird F-16 crashed at an air show in Idaho in September 2003, but no one was injured in the crash. The pilot ejected safely.

An investigation into that crash found that pilot error was to blame.