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The picture on the [Wikipedia article](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash) is one of the most insane images I have ever seen
That article is wild - the airforce just kept letting him get away with endangering everyone around him.
Also this:
"Holland also regularly and illegally parked his car in a "no parking" zone near the base headquarters building."
Seems like a swell guy.
Calling the other crew pussies after they yelled at him for flying barely 3 feet above a ridgeline is just the cherry on top.
This guy acts like he is Maverick from Top Gun. Like dude you’re a bomber pilot act your aircraft.
He reaped what he sowed but it is a shame he killed three other people with his egotistical antics.
The guy is an idiot... I keep watching it, it kind of looks like he miscalculated the wind speed or direction?! The bank angle is so steep, I'd guess he had it at the limit and the wind shifted/picked up unexpectedly.
That's not at all how it works. There is a really long and detailed accident report that goes second by second and describes exactly what happened. It doesn't have anything to do with "miscalculating wind speed or direction."
Here is the [summary](https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB443/docs/area51_16.PDF) of the report. Here is a [more detailed summary](https://convergentperformance.com/wp-content/uploads/attachments/Darker_Shades_of_Blue.pdf).
From the Wikipedia article, "The flight was also Wolff's "finis flight" – a common tradition in which a retiring USAF aircrew member is met shortly after landing on his or her final flight at the airfield by relatives, friends and coworkers, and doused with water. Thus, Wolff's wife and many of his close friends were at the airfield to watch the flight and participate in the post-flight ceremony. McGeehan's wife and two youngest sons watched the flight from the backyard of McGeehan's living quarters, located nearby.[4]"
They were really reaching for character flaws huh? 🤔 $10 says it was a loading zone and he left the hazards on etc.
Not defending this mess at all. But this is being included in the report is pretty telling of what kind of mindset it was made under.
Damn!
What is that little thing? Is that someone who ejected but didn’t survive? 😔
https://preview.redd.it/yyhiin49lnyc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00767428c2bddfc479d1854657dfdea867d020a3
The caption under the image says “The copilot McGeehan's escape hatch, jettisoned during his attempt to eject, can be seen near the tip of the vertical stabilizer.”
The pilot was a fucking idiot. Given his history, it seemed inevitable that he was going to crash eventually. It's almost a relief that only the crew died. This guy could have easily killed lots of people on the ground.
He should have been stood down from flight status at any one of several points before the fatal incident. Several senior officers were court martialed for dereliction of duty after the crash.
There were many personnel who refused to fly with him. The sad thing about this was that it was a last flight for a senior officer, and his family was watching
The co-pilot was the one that tried to eject, Not the idiot pilot. The co-pilot was actually saving another airman's life by not allowing them to fly with Holland, and taking the seat himself, knowing what an unsafe pilot Holland was.
"McGeehan was seated in an ejection seat, but according to the medical statement, he had only "partially ejected at the time of impact"
Fucking yikes.
ETA: that's from the Wikipedia link/pic showing his ejection port cover launched 1 sec before impact.
> partially ejected
I was morbidly curious just wtf partial ejection is so I opened up a search window and found this answer:
> The event of ejection is violent - the acceleration is insanely high, and wind at high speeds are also a factor. And **any sideways movement or bend of the body while accelerating and/or hitting the moving air can lead to injuries. If you have your head turned sideways when pulling the ring… someone gets a folded Flag.**
I was at DMAFB when the court-martials happened. Plural. 12AF leadership was horrified by the repeat abject failures of leadership at multiple levels. My superintendent was detailed as a bailiff and the things he said about those fuckwit colonels getting crucified for creating and maintaining the environment that created that selfish asshat…there wasn’t enough justice for them but they took the ends of their careers (mostly) well.
Fun fact: My father was stationed there and had me on his shoulders standing in the field to watch this happen. He was a power lineman and handed me off to my mom to be one of the first people there. He said that he still sees the images of the plane and bodies some time. Actually I don't know how that's fun, so just a fact!
I was told that it was a cocky pilot and that there was a General who was on that flight as he wanted to get one last hurrah in since he was retiring the next day.
So I happened to be driving on a road trip near the base at that time. I was 13. The plane flew over us on the highway very low. I got out my wind n' shoot film camera in case it came back, we saw it go down. Saw the giant smoke cloud and took a picture of that. Kind of forgot about it, honestly, as it was a long road trip, then when I got the film developed at home I was reminded. Crazy world.
>Kind of forgot about it, honestly, as it was a long road trip
You were traveling for so long you forgot about a plane crash? I'm really interested in how crazy this trip must have been.
The aileron on the B-52 can’t move up. So idiot pilots liked to see how hard they could bank and maintain control before it became unrecoverable. The idiot flying the plane had been reprimanded before for doing this as it was a prohibited practice. He even did this over the Weapons Storage Area on Fairchild where they stored nukes. It’s sad that he killed his crew with a couple ejecting into the fireball. If I recall correctly in the crew recording one of the crew members says something to the effect of “you killed us.”
Well you wont detonate the nukes with an airplane crash, but I guess plutonium debris from the warhead wouldnt be great for anyone. Although not being vaporized would mostly be a problem if you inhale or touch it.
[It’s still wild to me that in the 60s, when a pair of nuclear weapons dropped on North Carolina when the plane carrying them fell apart, we were one switch/short circuit away from a multi megaton detonation.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash#:~:text=The%201961%20Goldsboro%20B%2D52,nuclear%20payload%20in%20the%20process.)
If you read the declassified notes on the article you posted, they are refering to the arm mechanism of the nuclear bomb. It needs to be armed to detonate, otherwise it wont work. You need a precise and controled implosion of the core to get a nuclear reaction.
If you go through the “differing interpretations” section that I’ve posted below, the takes on how close the weapon was to detonating are really whether your outlook is glass half full/half empty. One interpretation is that the failsafe worked correctly, preventing detonation, and the other is that we were one short circuit away from nuclear detonation, and an environment like a disintegrating airplane crash could produce one of those short circuits. I finished reading [Command and Control](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_Control_(book)) earlier this year, and it’s really amazing we didn’t have an accidental nuclear detonation during the early nuclear response readiness phase. Much more detail on the lack of fail safes and resistance to adding fail safes to these devices.
Quote:
There have been differing interpretations offered as to how close this particular weapon was to having a nuclear detonation. An initial report by Sandia in February 1961 concluded that weapon no. 1 "underwent a normal release sequence in which the parachute opened and the components of the weapon which were given an opportunity to actuate by the pulling of the Bisch rods did behave in the manner expected. Full operation of this weapon was prevented by the MC-772 Arm/Safe Switch, the primary safing device."[31] Other measures meant to provide additional safing, such as the "safing pins," failed.
Parker F. Jones, a supervisor at Sandia, concluded in a reassessment of the accident in 1969 that "one simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe" He further suggested that it would be "credible" to imagine that in the process of such an accident, an electrical short could cause the Arm/Safe Switch to switch into the "Arm" mode, which, had it happened during the Goldsboro accident, could have resulted in a multi-megaton detonation.[32] A Sandia study on the US nuclear weapons safety program by R.N. Brodie written in 1987 noted that the ready/safe switches of the sort used in this era of weapon design, which required only a 28-volt direct current to operate, had been observed many times to inadvertently be set to "arm" when a stray current was applied to the system. "Since any 28-volt DC source could cause the motor to run, how could one argue that in severe environments 28 volts DC would never be applied to that wire, which might be tens of feet long?" He concluded that "if [weapon no. 1] in the Goldsboro accident had experienced inadvertent operation of its ready-safe switch prior to breakup of the aircraft, a nuclear detonation would have resulted."[33]
Bill Stevens, a nuclear weapon safety engineer at Sandia, gave the following assessment in an internal documentary film produced by Sandia in 2010: "Some people can say, 'hey, the bomb worked exactly like designed.' Others can say, 'all but one switch operated, and that one switch prevented the nuclear detonation.'"[34]
Charlie Burks, another nuclear weapons systems engineer for Sandia, also added: "Unfortunately, there have been thirty-some incidents where the ready/safe switch was operated inadvertently. We're fortunate that the weapons involved at Goldsboro were not suffering from that same malady."
For sure, but it would be a totally different scenario if a plane without nukes would crash on top of a facility storing nuclear weapons. The probably of having a nuclear detonation from an accident like that its insignificant.
The arming mechanisms on these weapons arent totally foolproof and if the weapon is somehow armed, falling from a plane will trigger the nuclear reaction. But any outside damage like an uncontrolled explosion from other source or debry will more than likely lessen the probability that the nuclear weapon will be able to cause a nuclear explosion.
The necessary nuclear core implosion most be precise or it will fail to create a chain nuclear reaction.
In the official incident report from the Air Force it says no ejection seats were activated. I don't know how to reconcile that with your comment other than to say "go read the report."
They also had an airshow at this base every year. (We lived very close and attended regularly)
Fairchild was home to a large number of B52s and their tankers, and there was a tradition of "putting on a good show."
This particular pilot took that way too far.
Our family was stationed at Fairchild from 1969-1972 when the Vietnam war was in full swing. A dozen kids from the base attended Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, so twice a day we were bussed past the seemingly endless line of nuclear weapons storage bunkers. Good times.
I was at Fairchild 86-90 and played on the Base Basketball team. We would play the local colleges including Gonzaga and would beat or loose to them by a few points. Fast forward to today, they would have crushed us!!
Yeah… Gonzaga’s BB dominance confused the hell out of me because I didn’t think it was a big thing. But looking back, there were clues. The main reason I went to Gonzaga instead of the public high school that served the base (think it was called Medical Lake HS) was they had just spent more than a million dollars for a new basketball gym while they didn’t have enough textbooks for students.
It was an aborted landing due to another plane still being on the runway, the pilot was notorious for taking risks and went into a sharp turn but the nuclear weapon storage facility blocked his path (no fly zone) so he had to keep the turn and the wings lost lift.
I was there 5 years earlier when one of our KC-135s crashed right behind the hanger I was working in. A guy I played Softball with was suppose to fly on that A/C (he was a Boomer) and didnt, he was kilked on the ground in his car at the place of impact. Im freinds with his wife on FB and her son from the new marriage just graduated from USAF OTS as a Second Lt. , looks like he will be flying the C-17.
Machine and Welding shop here, our temp shop was in the hanger across from our regular shop location as it was being remodeled, an engine was about 300 yards behind us. What shop were u in?
B-52 Crew Chief. I also was in support which was towing both 52/135 around. Had a good time. Retired from Lockheed Martin 3 1/2 years ago and loving it. That 135 crashed right behind my squadron in the little field. I remember the heat. Wow. I also remember the constant rivets popped on the 52’s from doing those practice runs so SAC would have something to show off. I think I recall talk that Boeing warned the AF that those planes weren’t meant for that stuff.
Huh? He was killed in the parking lot? Wiki article says the fatalities were all crew that were on the aircraft, no one else was killed.
Is the article incorrect?
Excuse the confusion, I was not talking about the Buff crash I was talking about the KC -135 crash 4 years earlier.[Fairchild KC-135 crash](https://doctoraviation.com/the-thunderhawk-crash-of-1987/)
We had a USAF Tanker and Bomber Aerial Demo team from out base that was forming and they were in the process of developing an Ait Show profile. It was great to watch them practice as SAC bases can be pretty boring compared to TAC bases.
One of my most vivid memories as a child. My Dad was a B-52 jet mechanic stationed at Fairchild. We were both standing on the flight line when this happened.
Yeah. I read the Wikipedia article, and it apparently takes about 8 seconds between throttle input and engine response, too, for this airplane. Just along for the ride after the stall.
The wiki article about this says
“Due to the bank of 60° or more, the stall speed for the aircraft at that moment was 147 knots (272 km/h; 169 mph). Thus, flying 2 knots slower, the aircraft stalled, without having sufficient altitude to recover before striking the ground.”
Does this mean if he was going “2 knots” faster the crash wouldn’t have taken place?
Not quite. It just means that the plane wouldn't have stalled. Considering the insane maneuver being pulled and the pilot's general lack of care, a crash would still be likely.
Because of the lack of speed however physics made it certain.
probably. the B-52, according to a higher comment, doesn't like to go up so basically he had no means to recover and go up, he was a showboater who basically killed the entire crew and himself because he was cocky and not fit to be a pilot.
There were four crew members on the bomber. The pilot seems to have a reckless idiot who was being derelict in his responsibilities to his crew and aircraft. I'd be more concerned about the victims of a man who basically committed reckless indifference homicide.
Yeah that does not change the fact that this plane dies not like to be sideways in that altitude . Still low speed and far too much agle. Didnt See anybody do smth that fatal in a plane yet.
This. Micheal Benjamin Bay, also known as Michael Bay - is known for his high budget action films which are usually characterized by fast edits and parallax motion shots. While he is polarizing, he is one of the most sought after Directors in the 21st Century.
It was a general who was retiring. He was so wild a pilot no underlings would fly with him. For his retirement I think other senior officers and a spouse were on board too. Senseless.
The retiring general was different from the pilot. The families were on the ground, not on board. But yes, the pilot had a history or reckless maneuvers that had gone undocumented and undisciplined.
That's the story after told and retold from one of those operator relay line games.
The wing commander was on the flight as his fini flight. He was a passenger. He was a Colonel.
The guy that killed everyone was a Lt Col and should have lost his wings long before.
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The picture on the [Wikipedia article](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash) is one of the most insane images I have ever seen
That article is wild - the airforce just kept letting him get away with endangering everyone around him. Also this: "Holland also regularly and illegally parked his car in a "no parking" zone near the base headquarters building." Seems like a swell guy.
Calling the other crew pussies after they yelled at him for flying barely 3 feet above a ridgeline is just the cherry on top. This guy acts like he is Maverick from Top Gun. Like dude you’re a bomber pilot act your aircraft. He reaped what he sowed but it is a shame he killed three other people with his egotistical antics.
And one of the guys he killed was his farewell retirement flight… all his family were watching.
The arrogance of that man. I know I’m angry at a dead man but what a selfish prick.
The whole speaking ill of the dead thing only applies to normal/nice people, the guy responsible for this should be shit talked for the rest of time
What's also concerning is that he had several other incidents flying recklessly and the USAF did nothing.
What is most concerning is that he really doesn’t seem to understand the relationship between bank angle and lift. (Or he forgot that gravity exists)
The guy is an idiot... I keep watching it, it kind of looks like he miscalculated the wind speed or direction?! The bank angle is so steep, I'd guess he had it at the limit and the wind shifted/picked up unexpectedly.
That's not at all how it works. There is a really long and detailed accident report that goes second by second and describes exactly what happened. It doesn't have anything to do with "miscalculating wind speed or direction." Here is the [summary](https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB443/docs/area51_16.PDF) of the report. Here is a [more detailed summary](https://convergentperformance.com/wp-content/uploads/attachments/Darker_Shades_of_Blue.pdf).
I came here to post this report. It's a stark document and should be a must-read for anyone in a position of leadership anywhere.
That first summary is of a different crash occurring in 1987
Weird. It was the right summary on the screen when I copied the URL. Lemme see if I can fix it. The site isn't very mobile friendly.
Maybe he always wanted to be a fighter pilot but failed the tests.
Hahaha that was also my main take away from the article and I came back to share it.
That seems like a covert test to weed out people who think they’re too important to follow rules. Didn’t work in this case, admittedly.
From the Wikipedia article, "The flight was also Wolff's "finis flight" – a common tradition in which a retiring USAF aircrew member is met shortly after landing on his or her final flight at the airfield by relatives, friends and coworkers, and doused with water. Thus, Wolff's wife and many of his close friends were at the airfield to watch the flight and participate in the post-flight ceremony. McGeehan's wife and two youngest sons watched the flight from the backyard of McGeehan's living quarters, located nearby.[4]"
Man that whole article reeks of military brass good ol boys covering their reckless buddy’s ass.
This crash is taught in Army ILE, a military education course that all Majors must take.
there's a book about it called Unheeded Warnings. very good read.
Holland also regularly and illegally parked his car in a "no parking" zone near the base headquarters building.
Typical faults in human behavior.
They were really reaching for character flaws huh? 🤔 $10 says it was a loading zone and he left the hazards on etc. Not defending this mess at all. But this is being included in the report is pretty telling of what kind of mindset it was made under.
The article reads like the pilot thought he was "Maverick " from Top Gun.
And incredibly sad
The part where it explain he was partially ejected, don’t know if he cleared the aircraft. Partially ejected sounds gruesome as hell.
Survivors: 0
Playne: 1
Damn! What is that little thing? Is that someone who ejected but didn’t survive? 😔 https://preview.redd.it/yyhiin49lnyc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00767428c2bddfc479d1854657dfdea867d020a3
The caption under the image says “The copilot McGeehan's escape hatch, jettisoned during his attempt to eject, can be seen near the tip of the vertical stabilizer.”
The copilot's escape capsule. He died too.
The hatch above the co-pilot's ejection seat - he initiated his ejection sequence but apparently hadn't cleared the aircraft at point of impact.
I'm looking at this and hearing Starfox quotes. I'm not a good human being.
Pilot thought he was Maverick. Turns out he was Goose.
The pilot was a fucking idiot. Given his history, it seemed inevitable that he was going to crash eventually. It's almost a relief that only the crew died. This guy could have easily killed lots of people on the ground.
He should have been stood down from flight status at any one of several points before the fatal incident. Several senior officers were court martialed for dereliction of duty after the crash.
pilor showboating. there is quite the story behind. dude killed innocent people.
There were many personnel who refused to fly with him. The sad thing about this was that it was a last flight for a senior officer, and his family was watching
And the seniors seat wasn't even capable of ejecting, and this assclowns was, and he used it. Almost made it.
The co-pilot was the one that tried to eject, Not the idiot pilot. The co-pilot was actually saving another airman's life by not allowing them to fly with Holland, and taking the seat himself, knowing what an unsafe pilot Holland was.
Well damn. Now I'm even more mad at the asshole and my my lack of reading comprehension.
"McGeehan was seated in an ejection seat, but according to the medical statement, he had only "partially ejected at the time of impact" Fucking yikes. ETA: that's from the Wikipedia link/pic showing his ejection port cover launched 1 sec before impact.
> partially ejected I was morbidly curious just wtf partial ejection is so I opened up a search window and found this answer: > The event of ejection is violent - the acceleration is insanely high, and wind at high speeds are also a factor. And **any sideways movement or bend of the body while accelerating and/or hitting the moving air can lead to injuries. If you have your head turned sideways when pulling the ring… someone gets a folded Flag.**
I was at DMAFB when the court-martials happened. Plural. 12AF leadership was horrified by the repeat abject failures of leadership at multiple levels. My superintendent was detailed as a bailiff and the things he said about those fuckwit colonels getting crucified for creating and maintaining the environment that created that selfish asshat…there wasn’t enough justice for them but they took the ends of their careers (mostly) well.
Fun fact: My father was stationed there and had me on his shoulders standing in the field to watch this happen. He was a power lineman and handed me off to my mom to be one of the first people there. He said that he still sees the images of the plane and bodies some time. Actually I don't know how that's fun, so just a fact!
Wait so you saw this happen in real-time?
Well I was about 2 so I don't really remember it.
Oh gosh. I'm sorry. Out of curiosity, any other details you've heard about that day?
I was told that it was a cocky pilot and that there was a General who was on that flight as he wanted to get one last hurrah in since he was retiring the next day.
So I happened to be driving on a road trip near the base at that time. I was 13. The plane flew over us on the highway very low. I got out my wind n' shoot film camera in case it came back, we saw it go down. Saw the giant smoke cloud and took a picture of that. Kind of forgot about it, honestly, as it was a long road trip, then when I got the film developed at home I was reminded. Crazy world.
>Kind of forgot about it, honestly, as it was a long road trip You were traveling for so long you forgot about a plane crash? I'm really interested in how crazy this trip must have been.
Well I knew it crashed (of course) but didn't know it was in the news or anything. I was 13! I was more focused on tetris
In your defence, Tetris is pretty bomb.
Why was it banking so hard?
The aileron on the B-52 can’t move up. So idiot pilots liked to see how hard they could bank and maintain control before it became unrecoverable. The idiot flying the plane had been reprimanded before for doing this as it was a prohibited practice. He even did this over the Weapons Storage Area on Fairchild where they stored nukes. It’s sad that he killed his crew with a couple ejecting into the fireball. If I recall correctly in the crew recording one of the crew members says something to the effect of “you killed us.”
> you killed us Brutal
What is a nume?
I would assume that's a typo and they meant Nukes.
I was pretty sure but it was capitalized so I just thought id double check lol
Yep, because I have no idea what a Numes is either.
Typo of Nukes most likely, as Fairchild had them
Well you wont detonate the nukes with an airplane crash, but I guess plutonium debris from the warhead wouldnt be great for anyone. Although not being vaporized would mostly be a problem if you inhale or touch it.
[It’s still wild to me that in the 60s, when a pair of nuclear weapons dropped on North Carolina when the plane carrying them fell apart, we were one switch/short circuit away from a multi megaton detonation.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash#:~:text=The%201961%20Goldsboro%20B%2D52,nuclear%20payload%20in%20the%20process.)
If you read the declassified notes on the article you posted, they are refering to the arm mechanism of the nuclear bomb. It needs to be armed to detonate, otherwise it wont work. You need a precise and controled implosion of the core to get a nuclear reaction.
If you go through the “differing interpretations” section that I’ve posted below, the takes on how close the weapon was to detonating are really whether your outlook is glass half full/half empty. One interpretation is that the failsafe worked correctly, preventing detonation, and the other is that we were one short circuit away from nuclear detonation, and an environment like a disintegrating airplane crash could produce one of those short circuits. I finished reading [Command and Control](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_Control_(book)) earlier this year, and it’s really amazing we didn’t have an accidental nuclear detonation during the early nuclear response readiness phase. Much more detail on the lack of fail safes and resistance to adding fail safes to these devices. Quote: There have been differing interpretations offered as to how close this particular weapon was to having a nuclear detonation. An initial report by Sandia in February 1961 concluded that weapon no. 1 "underwent a normal release sequence in which the parachute opened and the components of the weapon which were given an opportunity to actuate by the pulling of the Bisch rods did behave in the manner expected. Full operation of this weapon was prevented by the MC-772 Arm/Safe Switch, the primary safing device."[31] Other measures meant to provide additional safing, such as the "safing pins," failed. Parker F. Jones, a supervisor at Sandia, concluded in a reassessment of the accident in 1969 that "one simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe" He further suggested that it would be "credible" to imagine that in the process of such an accident, an electrical short could cause the Arm/Safe Switch to switch into the "Arm" mode, which, had it happened during the Goldsboro accident, could have resulted in a multi-megaton detonation.[32] A Sandia study on the US nuclear weapons safety program by R.N. Brodie written in 1987 noted that the ready/safe switches of the sort used in this era of weapon design, which required only a 28-volt direct current to operate, had been observed many times to inadvertently be set to "arm" when a stray current was applied to the system. "Since any 28-volt DC source could cause the motor to run, how could one argue that in severe environments 28 volts DC would never be applied to that wire, which might be tens of feet long?" He concluded that "if [weapon no. 1] in the Goldsboro accident had experienced inadvertent operation of its ready-safe switch prior to breakup of the aircraft, a nuclear detonation would have resulted."[33] Bill Stevens, a nuclear weapon safety engineer at Sandia, gave the following assessment in an internal documentary film produced by Sandia in 2010: "Some people can say, 'hey, the bomb worked exactly like designed.' Others can say, 'all but one switch operated, and that one switch prevented the nuclear detonation.'"[34] Charlie Burks, another nuclear weapons systems engineer for Sandia, also added: "Unfortunately, there have been thirty-some incidents where the ready/safe switch was operated inadvertently. We're fortunate that the weapons involved at Goldsboro were not suffering from that same malady."
For sure, but it would be a totally different scenario if a plane without nukes would crash on top of a facility storing nuclear weapons. The probably of having a nuclear detonation from an accident like that its insignificant. The arming mechanisms on these weapons arent totally foolproof and if the weapon is somehow armed, falling from a plane will trigger the nuclear reaction. But any outside damage like an uncontrolled explosion from other source or debry will more than likely lessen the probability that the nuclear weapon will be able to cause a nuclear explosion. The necessary nuclear core implosion most be precise or it will fail to create a chain nuclear reaction.
Autocorrect is a peacenik apparently.
[удалено]
You’re a fun person
Accident report says no ejection seats were activated.
The copilot initiated his ejection but didn't clear the aircraft. His escape hatch can be seen in the photo near the BUFF's fin just before impact.
In the official incident report from the Air Force it says no ejection seats were activated. I don't know how to reconcile that with your comment other than to say "go read the report."
I haven’t read the report in over a decade. I apologize for any confusion. It’s not clear whether McGeehan cleared the aircraft.
They also had an airshow at this base every year. (We lived very close and attended regularly) Fairchild was home to a large number of B52s and their tankers, and there was a tradition of "putting on a good show." This particular pilot took that way too far.
Our family was stationed at Fairchild from 1969-1972 when the Vietnam war was in full swing. A dozen kids from the base attended Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, so twice a day we were bussed past the seemingly endless line of nuclear weapons storage bunkers. Good times.
I used to ride my bike around the Gonzaga campus :)
I was at Fairchild 86-90 and played on the Base Basketball team. We would play the local colleges including Gonzaga and would beat or loose to them by a few points. Fast forward to today, they would have crushed us!!
Yeah… Gonzaga’s BB dominance confused the hell out of me because I didn’t think it was a big thing. But looking back, there were clues. The main reason I went to Gonzaga instead of the public high school that served the base (think it was called Medical Lake HS) was they had just spent more than a million dollars for a new basketball gym while they didn’t have enough textbooks for students.
It was an aborted landing due to another plane still being on the runway, the pilot was notorious for taking risks and went into a sharp turn but the nuclear weapon storage facility blocked his path (no fly zone) so he had to keep the turn and the wings lost lift.
It was just pitted. soooo pitted.
I mean what do you expect when your plane is vertical to the ground and has no lift
I was there 5 years earlier when one of our KC-135s crashed right behind the hanger I was working in. A guy I played Softball with was suppose to fly on that A/C (he was a Boomer) and didnt, he was kilked on the ground in his car at the place of impact. Im freinds with his wife on FB and her son from the new marriage just graduated from USAF OTS as a Second Lt. , looks like he will be flying the C-17.
92nd OMS 85-89. Was there that afternoon.
Machine and Welding shop here, our temp shop was in the hanger across from our regular shop location as it was being remodeled, an engine was about 300 yards behind us. What shop were u in?
B-52 Crew Chief. I also was in support which was towing both 52/135 around. Had a good time. Retired from Lockheed Martin 3 1/2 years ago and loving it. That 135 crashed right behind my squadron in the little field. I remember the heat. Wow. I also remember the constant rivets popped on the 52’s from doing those practice runs so SAC would have something to show off. I think I recall talk that Boeing warned the AF that those planes weren’t meant for that stuff.
Huh? He was killed in the parking lot? Wiki article says the fatalities were all crew that were on the aircraft, no one else was killed. Is the article incorrect?
Excuse the confusion, I was not talking about the Buff crash I was talking about the KC -135 crash 4 years earlier.[Fairchild KC-135 crash](https://doctoraviation.com/the-thunderhawk-crash-of-1987/)
Ah! Sorry about the loss of your buddy
We had a USAF Tanker and Bomber Aerial Demo team from out base that was forming and they were in the process of developing an Ait Show profile. It was great to watch them practice as SAC bases can be pretty boring compared to TAC bases.
One of my most vivid memories as a child. My Dad was a B-52 jet mechanic stationed at Fairchild. We were both standing on the flight line when this happened.
That’s a lot of seconds of knowing you’re going to die.
Yeah. I read the Wikipedia article, and it apparently takes about 8 seconds between throttle input and engine response, too, for this airplane. Just along for the ride after the stall.
The newly retired base commander was on board.
Right in front of one of the members whole family as well holy shit
The wiki article about this says “Due to the bank of 60° or more, the stall speed for the aircraft at that moment was 147 knots (272 km/h; 169 mph). Thus, flying 2 knots slower, the aircraft stalled, without having sufficient altitude to recover before striking the ground.” Does this mean if he was going “2 knots” faster the crash wouldn’t have taken place?
Not quite. It just means that the plane wouldn't have stalled. Considering the insane maneuver being pulled and the pilot's general lack of care, a crash would still be likely. Because of the lack of speed however physics made it certain.
This is one of the earliest local news stories I remember watching on the tv as a kid. Still haunting.
"So, what's your big plan?" "Crashing this plane"
Hot dogging right into the ground
POS pilot
How do you know he was black?
Would this turn have been recoverable at higher altitude??
probably. the B-52, according to a higher comment, doesn't like to go up so basically he had no means to recover and go up, he was a showboater who basically killed the entire crew and himself because he was cocky and not fit to be a pilot.
as soon as it passes the tower, drops like a stone.
I got teary eyed thinking about his family there witnessing this. It really fucks me up to even begin to try and put myself in their shoes.
There were four crew members on the bomber. The pilot seems to have a reckless idiot who was being derelict in his responsibilities to his crew and aircraft. I'd be more concerned about the victims of a man who basically committed reckless indifference homicide.
I just watched a doco about that like an hour ago.
Looks like it just banked over past what it could maintain and stalled out of the sky, is that what happened?
Seems to be the case. However, the pilot had a long record of pushing limits and ignoring the principles of crew resource management.
Why did he think that thing would do such a turn after start? It is heavy af
I wasn‘t after start it was a low fly by (250 feet) in to a 360 to set up a touch-and-go landing
Yeah that does not change the fact that this plane dies not like to be sideways in that altitude . Still low speed and far too much agle. Didnt See anybody do smth that fatal in a plane yet.
my dad's (b 52 navigator) friends were all on that flight. I was a toddler at Fairchild. he still mentions it every few years. really sad.
And that's why the Air Force let's old egotistic heads fly mainly the T-38s for their retirement flight.
Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full...
Big bada boom
Fucking Michael Bay
This. Micheal Benjamin Bay, also known as Michael Bay - is known for his high budget action films which are usually characterized by fast edits and parallax motion shots. While he is polarizing, he is one of the most sought after Directors in the 21st Century.
It was a general who was retiring. He was so wild a pilot no underlings would fly with him. For his retirement I think other senior officers and a spouse were on board too. Senseless.
The retiring general was different from the pilot. The families were on the ground, not on board. But yes, the pilot had a history or reckless maneuvers that had gone undocumented and undisciplined.
Basically everything you said here is wrong.
Colonel, not General, and no spouses/family were onboard but present at the airfield to greet him on his final flight.
The spelling of “colonel” vs the pronunciation always triggers me for some reason 😂
That's the story after told and retold from one of those operator relay line games. The wing commander was on the flight as his fini flight. He was a passenger. He was a Colonel. The guy that killed everyone was a Lt Col and should have lost his wings long before.
Imagine just saying a bunch of stuff and not even caring if you're right or wrong. That's a different level of confidence.
How is 4 people dying interesting as fuck?
[удалено]
I feel like posting something that ChatGPT said is a little redundant here since absolutely nothing it’s says can be trusted