Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: eagl on April 21, 2007, 04:13:27 PM
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CNN is reporting a Blue Angel crashed at an airshow at Beaufort SC. Initial reports are conflicting but one rumor was that the pilot was ok, and the local hospitals aren't being told to prepare for casualties.
Anyone here attend that airshow?
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Terrible news.....
Fox News is reporting the pilot was killed... Sir. Thank you for you service to this country.
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Just saw that also, my deepest condolences.
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BEAUFORT, S.C. - A Navy F-18 Blue Angel plane crashed during an air show Saturday, plunging into a small neighborhood of homes and trailers and killing the pilot.
Witnesses said the planes were flying in formation during the show at the Marine Corps Air Station and one dropped below the trees and apparently crashed, sending up clouds of smoke.
Raymond Voegeli, a plumber, was backing out of a driveway when the plane ripped through a grove of nearby pine trees, dousing his truck in flames and debris.
"It was just a big fireball coming at me," said Voegeli, 37. "It was just taking pine trees and just clipping them."
He said wreckage hit "plenty of houses and mobile homes." Other witnesses said metal and plastic, some of it on fire, peppered the neighborhood and that one mobile home was destroyed. The witnesses were unsure whether that home was occupied.
John Sauls, who lives near the crash site, said the planes were banking back and forth before one disappeared, and a plume of smoke shot up.
"It's one of those surreal moments when you go, 'No, I didn't just see what I saw,' " Sauls said.
"They were doing maneuvers and generally when the planes loop around they cross the runway and then turn around and basically when they turned around we saw a cloud of black smoke," said Brett Hindshaw, a South African who was visiting Beaufort for the air show.
"We started counting and we saw five aircraft. Four of them landed but the lead pilot circled over the accident sight and then one or two military helicopters took off and went in that direction," he told Reuters by telephone.
"Then all the ambulances and military fire trucks stationed along the runway took off."
A horrific scene
County Coroner Curt Copeland said the pilot was killed, but the identify was not immediately available. Copeland said there was a lot of debris at the crash site and described the scene as horrific.
At the Blue Angels command headquarters at Pensacola Naval Air Station the petty officer on duty said he "had no comment at this time." Phones rang unanswered at the Marine base.
More than 100,000 were expected to attend the air show and the Blue Angels were the main attraction. The elite aerial-demonstration team, which is based at Pensacola, recently celebrated its 60th anniversary.
Beaufort is about 35 miles northwest of Hilton Head Island.
Several witnesses said the debris destroyed a mobile home. It was not clear whether it was occupied.
Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report
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A sad day for the Navy. My condolences for a shipmate's family and friends.
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I am not sure if this is the pilot, but he is #6, and #6 did go in.....
LCdr Kevin Davis
(http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/officers/06.jpg)
and God Speed
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Ouch
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:(
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:cry
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:cry <
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Tailwinds forever <
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:cry
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man, that sucks :cry Wonder what the hell happened?
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:(
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man:( i watched them at are local air show in pasco when i was a boy and ill never forget it!! the rumble...i remmeber making my dad buy me one of there models and there foam flyer that you had to put the clay on the tip for weight...i was a huge fan of them when i was little..and i allways kept a eye out for there show if they came back..which they didnt..but thunderbirds showed up a few years ago here...i was happy to see them...i wish they flew the old thundercheifs thou;)....but such bummer news really...great fliers..top notch...and they defenatly had my imagination as a kid.....god speed pilot 6:(
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:cry
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This is awful. I imagine if the pilot was killed, he was either trying to guide his jet away from a populated area, or he was incapacitated for some reason. At least no one on the ground was killed.
One of Americas finest perished today.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VivFXJPeNSs
Thought appropiate, esp with the first song.
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:cry
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I was 15 in Lakehurst, NJ when 2 Blue Angels crashed the day before the Air Show.
I also cried then.
Mac
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This hero died serving his country as much as any man or woman in Iraq or Afghanistan, and dont let anyone tell you different.
sir. The world of aviation thanks you...Not only for being an extraordinary aviator, but for being an extraordinary person; and because of that, the US NAVY chose YOU to be their ambassador.
Be at peace my brother.........
thank you
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Sadly, it was LCdr Davis who did die yesterday. Here is his bio from the Blue Angels website.
Lieutenant Commander Kevin Davis is a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Reading Memorial High School in 1992 where he played football and was active with the Civil Air Patrol. He attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Science with honors in 1996.
Kevin reported to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, for Officer Candidate School and aviation indoctrination in September 1996. He completed primary flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and transferred to NAS Meridian, Mississippi, for intermediate and advanced flight training. While there, he flew the T-2C Buckeye and TA-4J Skyhawk, and received his wings of gold in June 1999.
Kevin reported to Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) at NAS Oceana, Virginia, for training in the F-14 Tomcat and was the “Top Stick” in his class. In July 2000 he reported to the VF-11 “Red Rippers” where he completed deployments aboard the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). While with the “Red Rippers,” Kevin served as the airframes/corrosion branch officer, air-to-ground training officer and head landing signals officer. His deployments included extended operations in the North Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In July 2003, Kevin transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet through Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125) at NAS Lemoore, California, and then reported to the Fighter Composite Squadron (VFC-12) “Omars,” stationed at NAS Oceana, Virginia. While at VFC-12, Kevin served as a Navy adversary pilot providing valuable air-to-air training for fleet squadrons. In December of 2004, Kevin graduated from the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) as an adversary pilot. During his tour at VFC-12, Kevin worked as the schedules officer, legal officer, FRS/SFARP officer and assistant operations officer.
Kevin joined the Blue Angels in September 2005. He has accumulated more than 2,500 flight hours and 200 carrier arrested landings. His decorations include the Air Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and various personal and unit awards.
and GodSpeed sir
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Guys, rememeber the video i posted a few weeks back? Anyways, he's the F-18 pilot who took the actor up for a ride....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KwUE5EZ5Ek
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I just saw some video feed of the moments leading up to the crash. He was coming down and around in a half circle to fall into formation as it sped below and past him. From what I could tell, he was going very fast and pulling very hard while very low to the ground and to compound this, was in a nose down attitude of maybe 15 degrees. I would guess he was under significant G force, very well might have grayed out and lost sight of the terrain. Just a rather crude guess on my part.
! To the guy, I have always loved the Blues
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Do you have a link for that video?
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same thought yeager..he seemed to muosch out blending in to group
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My deepest sympathies go out to the Blues and Lt Cmdr. Davis's family. May God be with them in this time of grieving for the loss of a great hero today. My prayers go out to your family, the Blue Angels and and all our troops.
Godspeed Kojack.
I was thinking the same thing looked like a GLoc in that video http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/us/2007/04/22/lapin.sc.blue.angels.crash.cnn
A CNN Tribute to Kojack (http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/bestoftv/2007/04/23/intv.robin.blue.angel.crash.cnn)
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Think G-loc also. Cut the corner tight and mushed in.
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So sad :(
<> to a hero