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In Memoriam

Captain J. Edgington Moats

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Captain J. Edgington Moats

5 August 1981




Visitor Comments
Rest in Peace, Jay
Kevin Phillips, Aug 05, 2014 - 05:35 PM

On this day, Aug 5, 1981, I was in the 4-ship training flight in which Jay Moats was the flight leader. Very sadly, he had a series of malfunctions that caused his aircraft to pitch over violently while at 500 knots at 500 feet. Jay managed to eject, but the downward trajectory of the aircraft did not allow for him to get a full chute. He almost made it. He had a wife and 11-month old daughter at the time. His daughter would be about 33-34 years old now. I'm sure she has often wondered what her Dad was like. He was a very intelligent, very talented and skilled fighter pilot. He truly loved his infant daughter. I think of Jay often, but most especially on this day. Rest in peace, Jay. We remember you.

I'd rather be lucky than good
Mark Baker, Dec 28, 2019 - 03:54 AM

Jay took the hit for all of us to find a flaw in our early F-16s. John Cary's accident some months earlier (10 April) was not sufficient to substantiate the need to re-trim the tail to more neutral position in the event of an FCS shutdown (or the need to wire the aircraft battery as a tertiary source of FCS power in case of EPU failure). We stood down for 4 weeks during the investigation and subsequent fixes. RIP, our brother.







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