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USAF Thunderbirds F-16 fighter jet crashes in San Bernardino County

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A pilot ejected safely as an F-16 fighter jet from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team crashed on a dry lake bed in San Bernardino County on Wednesday, Dec. 3, officials said. The fiery crash was reported shortly before 11 a.m. along Trona Road in Trona, about three miles south of Trona Airport and about 25 miles northeast of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department and Air Force officials. (www.desertsun.com) More...

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jetjocknj
jetjocknj 8
avionik99 - not so fast. G-LOC is generally considered no fault. G-LOC is an acronym for G-induced Loss of Consciousness, which happens when high G-forces in maneuvers like those in a fighter jet push blood away from the brain, leading to a temporary blackout. G-LOC is always a factor to be considered in a mysterious crash, especially in the case of the F-16, which can sustain 9 Gs for an indefinite period of time. When you wake up from the blackout, you could be momentarily disoriented, and if you simultaneously sense the ground coming up fast--too fast--survival instinct may kick in spurring a bias toward ejecting. Fighter Pilots train against G-LOC, but one could be having a bad day and just fail to kick the training in sufficiently to fight off G-LOC effects.
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Highflyer1950
Highflyer1950 3
Auto GCAS will level the aircraft but not control the throttle assuming the pilot did not engage the overrid.
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sparkie624
sparkie624 9
At least the pilot is safe... There is always another plane... But there is not always another good pilot!
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loganmd
Bradley Logan 1
Short answer: Yes they did — briefly, but not in shows.
The Blue Angels did use the Vought F4U Corsair, but only very early in 1946 and only for training/transition, not for public demonstrations.
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pheliks
John Graham 1
Guess he didn't run out of gas
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avionik99
avionik99 -7
Those are some of the very best maintained aircraft in the world. It's possible, but hard to see this being anything but pilot error.
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TorstenHoff
Torsten Hoff 18
They are also some of the most competent pilots in the world. I would wait for the preliminary report before assigning fault.
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bbabis
bbabis -1
They are also some of the oldest aircraft in the USAF inventory deemed no longer serviceable for active duty.
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TorstenHoff
Torsten Hoff 12
I don't know about the Thunderbirds, but the Blue Angels fly aircraft that are in near battle-ready condition and can be made so on short notice. Certainly not "no longer serviceable."
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ScottCurtis777
ScottCurtis777 8
Same for the T-Birds.
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WhiteKnight77
WhiteKnight77 1
Both services use a special water based paint that can be removed if the birds are needed for combat.
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jetjocknj
jetjocknj 5
Pure ignorance.
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freightdog99
john stubblefield 0
Shack!
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freightdog99
john stubblefield 2
Nope, they're flying the newest version
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HeissZephyr
HeissZephyr 2
Not sure why people are negging bbabis comment. It is well known the demonstration teams fly the older aircraft. How long did the blues fly the A4 and the birds the T38 while active duty pilots were flying F18s and F16s respectively? Even when they are "upgraded" it is to the earlier model aircraft than those fielded for service.
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sparkie624
sparkie624 0
I agree 100%... One fact that many do not realize is that all of the planes back to the days of the Corsairs The Corsairs were the first planes that Blue Angels flew! Also, another fact that many do not realize is that ALL of the Blue Angel aircraft throughout history have serviced in actual combat!
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TorstenHoff
Torsten Hoff 4
The Blue Angels never flew the Corsair.

https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/history/aircraft.htm
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loganmd
Bradley Logan 2
Short answer: Yes they did— briefly, but not in shows.
The Blue Angels did use the Vought F4U Corsair, but only very early in 1946 and only for training/transition, not for public demonstrations.
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TorstenHoff
Torsten Hoff 3
The Corsair was evaluated but rejected due to some unpleasant flight characteristics. Therefore the statement that "The Corsairs were the first planes that Blue Angels flew!" is not accurate.
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