Forum: Mishaps

Quote:

Two F-18s crash in Iraq

A search is under way for the pilots of two Marine Corps F/A-18 jets that were lost Monday while flying in support of the war in Iraq, Navy officials said.

Navy officials said they believe the jets collided with each other in bad weather during a routine mission.

The crew of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson lost contact with the planes about 10:10 p.m. (2:10 p.m. ET), a U.S. military statement said.

"There was no indication of hostile fire in the area at the time contact was lost," the military statement said.

The statement did not say if the planes were over land or sea when they lost contact.

The Boeing-built F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft, versions of which can carry either one- or two-person crews.

The aircraft, with a price tag of $35 million and up, have been in service since the 1980s.

The Carl Vinson replaced the USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf on March 20 to support forces in Iraq.

The Navy says its eight operational nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carriers are the largest warships in the world, carrying about 85 aircraft each.

Late last year, Marine Corps officials said a sharp increase in deadly accidents involving Marine aircraft had forced a close look at possible causes. (Full story)

From October 2003 through September 2004, the Marines sustained 18 major accidents, including the deaths of 15 aviators and the loss of 21 helicopters and fighter planes.

The accidents included the collision of two Hornet fighters over the Atlantic Ocean and another collision of two Hornets over Oregon that killed the two pilots.

In September, a Marine pilot was rescued after ejecting from his F/A-18 jet just before it crashed during a training exercise in the Australian Outback.

Source: cnn.com

Comments..info? Sad

ACSheva

F-16.net Sponsor

I hope the pilots are ok, but that's as far into it as I'd like to go on an internet board until the mishap investigation is concluded.

Sorry to be short, but at this time, we should be respectful of the pilots' families, and the Marines working this mishap.

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

My prayers go out to all involved.

For those who understand Russian,this is gonna be pretty [Link pending approval] At the sukhoi site people are practically singing for joy that American pilots [Link pending approval] Evil or Very Mad

[Link pending approval]

Ugh, let them gloat, what terrible character though. I checked it out in babbelfish but the sentence structure in russia must be in a different order. (noun noun verb?) so its kinda mind confusing.

I have a tremendous ammount of respect for both pilots. Hopefully their families will not have to wait in anticipation long to find out what happened.

-Aaron

Quote:

For those who understand Russian, this is gonna be pretty shocking...At the sukhoi site people are practically singing for joy that American pilots died..

Not true, just because 1 person makes a horrible statement, does not mean that they all are singing joy. Just wanted to let every one else know.

As a person who has a Russian father, I am also very sad, and I feel bad for what happened. God Bless their families.

ACSheva

They found one of the bodies

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7713274/

I'm with AC. That looks like another internet chatroom, rather than the "official view" of the Sukhoi company.

I feel very bad for that pilot and his family. I hope at least the other pilot is safe.

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

<a href="http://www.boston.com/dailynews/124/wash/Investigators_have_found_the_w:.shtml" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Unconfirmed report says the wreckage of the second jet was found but the second pilot is still missing</a>.

Speculation still is that it was a mid-air. Stay tuned.

If anybody gets any new information on this, please post ASAP. I live in AZ and routinely photograph F-18's fron VMFA-232 that stop in at the former Williams AFB. I have talked with quite a few of the aviators and I hope it's nobody I knew. Don't have know any names, but I record all serial numbers. My prayers go out to the families.

AZViperFan, click the link in my last post. It ID's the first pilot.

Here is more updated information.

Quote:

Minnesota Marine Killed in Jet Crash in Iraq

A U.S. Marine from Minnesota was killed in Iraq when his jet crashed.

The remains of Kelly Hinz, 30, have been found following a plane crash.

The U.S. military said earlier Wednesday that the remains of two pilots had been recovered after an apparent crash of two F/A-18 Hornet jets in Iraq. The military identified one of the pilot's as Maj. John C. Spahr, 42, of Cherry Hill, N.J.

A Department of Defense Web site had not reported Hinz death as of Wednesday night, but the military had notified the man's family. Hinz's family declined to comment Wednesday.

Mary Culbertson, the communications director at St. Thomas Academy, said friends of the family told teachers and former students that Hinz' body had been found.

Hinz graduated from the school in 1993.

Hinz's father, Donald, died in May 2004 when a vintage fighter plane he was piloting crash-landed during an air show in Wisconsin.

Source: <a href="http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=96092" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">kare11.com</a>

Thanks LinkF-16SimDude. I don't get too personal with aviators that stop in and consequently don't know many names, just serial numbers and units. Again, my prayers are with their families.

It must have been an engine malfunction.

Those Russians are crazy. They build tough aircraft though, but that was a bad character.