Pilot dead in F-16 crash in Ariz.

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Source: Unknown

PARKER, Ariz. - The pilot of an F-16C fighter jet that crashed in a rugged area of western Arizona was killed when his plane went down, Air Force officials confirmed Saturday.

The student pilot was practicing air-to-air combat with another F-16 from Luke Air Force Base about noon Friday when his plane crashed, base spokeswoman Mary Jo May said.

Aircraft from the Air Force, Marines, Civil Air Patrol and Arizona Department of Public Safety spent hours trying to find the wreckage, which was spotted late Friday in a remote area about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

Rescuers could only reach the site by helicopter and arrived at daybreak Saturday, May said. They found the pilot's parachute and some of his gear about 150 feet from an impact crater. It took several hours for the Air Force to confirm that he had died in the crash.

The pilot, whose identity hasn't been released pending notification of relatives, was part of the 62nd Fighter Squadron, one of eight squadrons at the base. The base is in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale and is the world's largest F-16 training base with about 185 F-16s.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080315/ap_on_re_us/f16_cra...

[tachyon]

1. Well there's another $20M down the drain.

...

[ben_meyers]

2. Is that what a pilots life is worth?

How did you arrive at that calculation.

[tachyon]

6. I was talking about the airplane.

It's about what they cost. I did not mention the pilot at all. (I am a professional pilot myself)

[Zywiec]

3. Very sensitive of you

Is that what you suggest the military say as they are notifying the next of kin?

[tachyon]

7. They will be lucky if the government does not present them with a bill for it.

(I am not kidding...much)

[uppityperson]

4. Some posts just make me shake my head.

[tachyon]

8. Good for you. We all should be concerned with waste in the military-industrial complex.

[uppityperson]

10. And all you do is defend your nastiness and lack of caring about a person by talking about

wasting money. Sad.

[Xenotime]

5. Sounds like they didn't spend enough on training...

Lesson #1: Don't crash into the fucking planet. You will die.

[tachyon]

9. Exactly. And some of the ones who don't die drop dummy bombs on Oklahoma apartments.

[texastoast]

11. Actually the F-16

is prone to wire chafing. Their poor design has killed seasoned top gun pilots. Hundreds of the planes have fallen out of the sky. Usually the pilots are able to eject, but not always.

This particular case is when former U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis Powell gave immunity to military contractors not just for design defects, but also for manufacturing defects. So if a worker building a plane put in a 1-inch screw where a 1/2-inch screw was required to prevent wire chafing, oh, well, no biggie.


http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F2/878/1311 /

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310657,00.html

[uppityperson]

12. Thanks for that info. It is really infuriating. RIP and condolences to those harmed by this stuff.

[Contrary1]

13. A pilot is dead...

May he/she rest in peace.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FalconsRule]

14. Here's a Toast... N/T