[MilCom] OT: F-15 FIGHTER JET CRASHES ON MOUNTAIN IN WESTERN VIRGINIA

[Roger Strohmeyer]

I really hope the guy ejected somewhere and is safe but so far it's not
looking good....

-Roger


On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 1:32 PM, Bengalsfan via MilCom <
milcom at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> An experienced pilot on a standard maintenance mission was missing
> Wednesday after the flyer's fighter jet crashed in the mountains of western
> Virginia, shaking residents but causing no injuries on the ground, military
> and law enforcement officials said.
>
> The pilot of the single-seat F-15C reported an inflight emergency, then
> lost radio contact, authorities said. The pilot and jet are with the 104th
> Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, officials there said.
>
> It was unclear whether the pilot had ejected from the jet, Col. James
> Keefe said at a news conference in Westfield, Massachusetts, home of the
> fighter wing. He noted that all pilots received ejection training every six
> months.
>
> The plane had no munition onboard and was headed to New Orleans for radar
> installation as part of routine maintenance, Keefe said.
>
> Just before 9 a.m., residents near Deerfield — with a population of just
> 130 people, about 135 miles northwest of Richmond — say they heard a series
> of explosions-like booms.
>
> "It's the loudest noise I've ever heard," 63-year-old Rebecca Shinaberry,
> who lives on a farm about two miles away, said. "(It) just shook the
> ground, and from my house we could just see a big plume of smoke."
>
> Turkey farmer A.D. Shinaberry said that from the first two booms, he
> thought a plane had broken the sound barrier. But 10 seconds later he heard
> a third boom — the crash, he said.
>
> Then, "it was like a mushroom, black smoke came up," Shinaberry said.
>
> From the smoke, Virginia State Police said, they located the crash site,
> in a heavily wooded but level area adjacent to a mountain in the George
> Washington National Forest.
>
> A deep crater and a large debris field are on the site, and state police
> are searching, spokeswoman Corrine Geller said.
>
> "It is probably five, six miles from the crash site to the nearest
> civilization," Keefe said. "It's deeply wooded, and a lot of hills and
> mountains."
>
> "We are not going to speculate on what occurred or the status of the
> pilot," Keefe said. "We are hopeful that the pilot is OK."
>
> He said the plane was flying about 30,000 to 40,000 feet — "pretty high" —
> when the pilot reported the emergency. Pilots are trained to release
> equipment when ejecting, Keefe said, so it was likely the pilot did not
> have a radio.
>
> The area around Deerfield is rural with rocky, steep terrain. Authorities
> were gathered at a volunteer fire station outside the crash site. Next to
> the fire station, helicopters took off and landed to help in the search.
>
> F-15s are maneuverable tactical fighters that can reach speeds up to 1,875
> mph, according to the Air Force website. The F-15C Eagle entered the Air
> Force inventory in 1979 and costs nearly $30 million, the website says. The
> Air Force has nearly 250 F-15s.
>
> Several F-15s have crashed over the past few years in various states. In
> at least one, the pilot ejected safely. Causes included failure of a
> support structure for the jet and pilot error.
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Aug 27, 2014, at 2:40 PM, Mark via MilCom <milcom at mailman.qth.net>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> http://www.stripes.com/pilot-made-distress-call-before-guard-fighter-jet-cra
> > shed-in-virginia-1.300176
> >
> > Mark
> > Maryland
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