2007-03-07 14:31:11 · 6 answers · asked by Mere Mortal 7 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
The aircraft was being flown by the XO from Fairchild AFB in Washington. He had the Commanding Officer of the base on board and other high ranking officers. He had been removed from flight status prior to this flight but had been returned for this practice and his last flight which was to be at the Fairchild AFB Air Show the following week. He was scheduled to retire the following month.
When making this pass during the practice session, he banked too steeply, at too slow an airspeed causing the aircraft to stall.
The aircraft impacted the ground adjacent to bunkers which held nuclear weapons, but they were not armed and there was no chance of them detonating because of the crash.
All aboard the aircraft were fataly injured as was obvious from the video...
2007-03-07 15:05:49 · answer #1 · answered by Gordon B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As I recall it (had to study this one at an Aviation Problem Summary Course), The Pilot in Command was the squadron XO and everyone refused to fly with him, as he was a real hot dog. The CO agreed to show the squadron that it'd be all right. They were preparing for an air show and the footage you saw, was shot by the COs wife... He was apparently attempting to perform a knife edge well below minimums and clipped some power lines. If you watch the footage closely, you can see the sparks of those lines as they get severed. Contributing factor to the subsequent crash? I suppose. They were not the sole contributing cause, but may have added to the show. The fact is, that while flying well below minimums while performing a knife edge maneuver, in that position, the wings offer no amount of lift and therefore, everything has to be countered with rudder action to try and keep the nose up. Too slow, and the rudder is rendered ineffective. Ground, meet airplane. Airplane, meet ground... Hell of an introduction. I've also seen footage of that same pilot out in Arizone "buzzing" some friends who were standing on the edge a plateau. REALLY scarey.
2007-03-07 15:19:18 · answer #2 · answered by Doc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe that a combination of insufficient airspeed and extreme manoeuvring was beyond the capabilities of the B-52. Performing that manoeuvre at such a low altitude probably contributed to the crash.
2007-03-07 15:00:16 · answer #3 · answered by brian m 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this was caused by a hot shot pilot who exceeded the maximum bank angle of the aircraft. When you bank an airplane that much, the wings don't provide lift anymore and gravity takes over. Had he much more altitude, he probably would have had no trouble recovering from this manoeuvre. He was under scrutiny for his flying and was one of the casualties as was his co-pilot who was evaluating him.
2007-03-08 00:58:30 · answer #4 · answered by al b 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stalled out and fell at liwer speedyou dont have as much lift in the wings, a sharp bankinf manucer at low speed will reduce the lift and affect of the control surfaces
2007-03-07 14:49:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, the pilot was an idiot and an ********! It's too bad other airmen had to die with him.
Incredible as it sounds, wings don't produce very much lift against gravitational force when they are almost perpendicular to the earth's surface.
2007-03-07 16:52:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋