F-15C Crashes in Western VA

Military aircraft accidents/mishaps.
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
 
Posts: 34
Joined: 12 Jun 2014, 14:50

by smitty14 » 27 Aug 2014, 20:38

No word whether or not the pilot got out. Rural crash site, communications are spotty. No contact with the pilot yet. Let's hope he got out and is recovered soon.

http://abc7news.com/news/air-force-f-15 ... ia/283041/


User avatar
F-16.net Webmaster
F-16.net Webmaster
 
Posts: 3770
Joined: 23 May 2003, 15:44

by Lieven » 28 Aug 2014, 22:55

Unfortunately the F-15 fighter pilot is still missing. Search continues...


Senior member
Senior member
 
Posts: 381
Joined: 07 Jan 2005, 23:36
Location: Wright Patterson

by ruderamronbo » 29 Aug 2014, 07:26

The pilot has officially been declared killed in the crash. RIP :salute:

DEERFIELD, Va. — The pilot of an F-15 jet that crashed this week in remote Virginia mountains was killed, military officials said Thursday, bringing to a sad end an exhaustive two-day search involving more than 100 local, state and federal officials as well as volunteers.

Col. James Keefe announced the news at the Massachusetts Air National Guard in Westfield, Massachusetts, home of the 104th Fighter Wing, where the pilot and jet were based.

Source: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/08/28/3399 ... ssing.html


User avatar
Elite 2K
Elite 2K
 
Posts: 2652
Joined: 24 Nov 2012, 02:20
Location: USA

by KamenRiderBlade » 29 Aug 2014, 07:34

ruderamronbo wrote:The pilot has officially been declared killed in the crash. RIP :salute:

http://www.kentucky.com/2014/08/28/3399 ... ssing.html

DEERFIELD, Va. — The pilot of an F-15 jet that crashed this week in remote Virginia mountains was killed, military officials said Thursday, bringing to a sad end an exhaustive two-day search involving more than 100 local, state and federal officials as well as volunteers.

Col. James Keefe announced the news at the Massachusetts Air National Guard in Westfield, Massachusetts, home of the 104th Fighter Wing, where the pilot and jet were based.


Poor guy, may he RIP, thanks for serving and protecting us.
I hope his family can move on from this tragedy.


Enthusiast
Enthusiast
 
Posts: 34
Joined: 12 Jun 2014, 14:50

by smitty14 » 29 Aug 2014, 15:28

I'll be enjoying the long weekend in the Shenandoah Valley, roughly 70 miles from the crash site. I'll be sure to raise a glass to the lost pilot and his family.


Active Member
Active Member
 
Posts: 146
Joined: 28 Apr 2005, 13:20

by FDiron » 29 Aug 2014, 23:46

An entire series of events must have conspired to cause this crash of high altitude F-15 with an extremely experienced pilot. For the pilot not to have ejected, it seems to me that he must have been incapacitated somehow. Does the F-15 uses onboard oxygen generating equipment, or is the O2 stored in tanks?


Elite 5K
Elite 5K
 
Posts: 5319
Joined: 20 Mar 2010, 10:26
Location: Parts Unknown

by mixelflick » 30 Aug 2014, 00:25

Sad day but I bet he passed doing what he loved..

The 104th is in Westfield, MA Growing up, they flew A-10's as long as I can remember prior to transitioning to the F-15. The base hosts an air-show every other year and in 1987, I heard the F-15 was going to be there. Not only there, it was the boys from Langley. They were the highlight of the show and flew a demo. Was and still is my favorite fighter and I was so excited rounding the corner of the field, then I saw it..

It didn't disappoint. Two clean F-15C's, they looked fast just parked on the ramp. The pilot put on an incredible display and it left an impression that's there 'till this day. I overheard another kid (I was 17) saying how he liked the F-14 better, saying it looked more "solid". Actually got angry over that... :)

The pilot's from another neighboring town and not far from where I live now. I hope his family knows he was a hero, someone who kept us safe even as we slept. They're not building F-15C's anymore, and I suspect they don't make 'em like this guy either.

Gone but never forgotten...


Elite 2K
Elite 2K
 
Posts: 2346
Joined: 09 May 2012, 21:34

by neurotech » 30 Aug 2014, 02:06

FDiron wrote:An entire series of events must have conspired to cause this crash of high altitude F-15 with an extremely experienced pilot. For the pilot not to have ejected, it seems to me that he must have been incapacitated somehow. Does the F-15 uses onboard oxygen generating equipment, or is the O2 stored in tanks?

It might not have been an oxygen problem. It could have been a flight control problem. A jet fighter can depart controlled flight fast enough that the pilot is unconscious before they have a chance to eject.

The F-15C uses bottles, as I recall.

Flying fighters carries risks, and accidents happen.

RIP to LtCol Fontenot :salute:


Forum Veteran
Forum Veteran
 
Posts: 628
Joined: 27 Jan 2004, 07:39

by huggy » 30 Aug 2014, 15:44

neurotech wrote:
FDiron wrote:It might not have been an oxygen problem. It could have been a flight control problem. A jet fighter can depart controlled flight fast enough that the pilot is unconscious before they have a chance to eject.

I believe you would be hard pressed to find some instances where a jet fighter departed controlled flight, and where this caused the pilot to go unconscious.
The F-15 inflight breakup is a good example. Despite a very violent, and high G onset, the pilot did not lose consciousness.


Active Member
Active Member
 
Posts: 146
Joined: 28 Apr 2005, 13:20

by FDiron » 30 Aug 2014, 20:49

I'm not sure how many backup flight control systems the F-15 has, but I've read of several incidents where jets have lost some or all flight control response. In a couple of these cases the jets were in a supersonic dive within seconds. Of the pilots who ejected, some lived, some didn't.

The only time I've heard of a jet departing flight and killing the pilot due to a overload of g-forces was on an F-8 crusader. The elevator trim went into full deflection, and an estimated 30Gs were put on the pilot. The plane held together, but it smashed into the ground with the pilot still in it. They think the pilot was probably dead before it crashed.


Elite 2K
Elite 2K
 
Posts: 2346
Joined: 09 May 2012, 21:34

by neurotech » 31 Aug 2014, 09:01

huggy wrote:
neurotech wrote:
FDiron wrote:It might not have been an oxygen problem. It could have been a flight control problem. A jet fighter can depart controlled flight fast enough that the pilot is unconscious before they have a chance to eject.

I believe you would be hard pressed to find some instances where a jet fighter departed controlled flight, and where this caused the pilot to go unconscious.
The F-15 inflight breakup is a good example. Despite a very violent, and high G onset, the pilot did not lose consciousness.

I remember hearing about an F-22 pilot cracking his helmet on the canopy, after a high G excursion. They came very close to loosing a jet, and quite likely the pilot as well.

It wasn't a Class-A mishap, but a F/A-18C had a LEF failure and the pilot came very close to blacking out when the jet became unstable. Luckily, the pilot accelerated out of the rolling departure and regained control. The jet made an emergency arrested landing and was repaired.

Another F/A-18D snapped violently when a stabilizer servo failed. Surprisingly, the jet was controllable after the pitch went went into MECH reversion. The pilot G-LOC'd although the back-seater was able to fly the jet for the initial recovery. The jet made a safe emergency arrested landing. F/A-18 arrested landings in emergencies are usually required, per NATOPS.

I thought there were several cases of F-16As with chaffing FCS wires causing temporary violent uncommanded pitch up, or roll.

Technically not a "jet" but one of the worst airshow mishaps was in Reno was when a modified P-51 snapped up violently, causing the pilot to black out at the controls. 11 people died, including the pilot.


Enthusiast
Enthusiast
 
Posts: 34
Joined: 12 Jun 2014, 14:50

by smitty14 » 03 Sep 2014, 19:24

If a pilot is forced eject at high altitude, let's say 30,000 feet, are there systems in place to provide him/her breathable air until the individual decends below 12,000 feet? Thanks in advance.


User avatar
Elite 2K
Elite 2K
 
Posts: 2543
Joined: 31 Jan 2004, 19:18
Location: SW Tenn.

by LinkF16SimDude » 04 Sep 2014, 03:51

The answers you seek are here.

At higher altitudes (15K+) the occupant stays with the seat (and the attached emergency O2 bottle) until he/she reaches either the Mode 1 or Mode 2 envelope at which point the seat seperates. A manual seat seperation handle is also available if needed.



Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests