Fighter Jet News
F-16 Fighting Falcon News
Thunderbirds on hold after crash
September 17, 2003 (by
Lieven Dewitte) -
The Air Force Thunderbirds will not fly this week in Maryland or Kansas, and the Air Force said Tuesday that the demonstration team's schedule for the remainder of the year is in question following a crash Sunday in Idaho.
A Thunderbirds performance scheduled today during a conference of allied air chiefs at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., also was canceled.
Johnsrud said no decision had been made about a scheduled Sept. 27-28 appearance in Janesville, Wis.
The cancellations made it unclear whether the Thunderbirds would perform at a mid-November air show marking the team's 50th anniversary. However, a spokesman for the Air Force Thunderbirds says the aerobatic stunt team still wants to be the featured attraction in next month's California International Airshow Salinas.
The team will not participate in air shows this week in Maryland and Kansas. The rest of its schedule is in question until the Air Force completes an investigation into why one of its planes malfunctioned during an air show at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
"If anything changes, we'll let people know," Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Bahret said Tuesday. "We want to make sure everything is safe before we go back up."
Johnsrud said no decision had been made about a scheduled Sept. 27-28 appearance in Janesville, Wis.
The cancellations made it unclear whether the Thunderbirds would perform at a mid-November air show marking the team's 50th anniversary. However, a spokesman for the Air Force Thunderbirds says the aerobatic stunt team still wants to be the featured attraction in next month's California International Airshow Salinas.
The team will not participate in air shows this week in Maryland and Kansas. The rest of its schedule is in question until the Air Force completes an investigation into why one of its planes malfunctioned during an air show at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
"If anything changes, we'll let people know," Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Bahret said Tuesday. "We want to make sure everything is safe before we go back up."