Vermont F-16 pilot is grounded following stunt at Fenway Park.

Started by afgeo4, April 11, 2008, 05:45:22 PM

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afgeo4

 By WILSON RING, Associated Press Writer Apr 10, 8:56 pm EDT

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)—A Vermont Air National Guard pilot who took part in a flyover of Fenway Park during opening day ceremonies has been grounded for making an improper maneuver near the park, a Guard spokesman said Thursday.

The F-16 pilot flew under and over the other three F-16s in the formation at about 1,200 feet over Boston on Tuesday afternoon because he was going too fast and was late joining the formation, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Lloyd Goodrow said.

"It is a legitimate maneuver. It is normally done at 5,000 feet or above," Goodrow said. "The crowd loved it, but it was not a planned maneuver."

Goodrow would not release the name of the pilot.

People at Fenway Park or watching the Boston Red Sox's opening day ceremonies on television saw three planes flying wing tip to wing tip when the fourth plane approached from behind and then appeared to curve around the other aircraft.

Goodrow said it was not an acrobatic stunt.

"At no time was the public in danger," Goodrow said. "Our pilot is a very skilled pilot. He maintained full control of the airplane."

Red Sox spokesman John Blake said Thursday the team hadn't heard any complaints about the maneuver.

"I think we were made aware of it today by the Green Mountain Boys," Blake said Thursday. "Nobody here has had a lot of time to find out what happened."

Goodrow said Guard officials saw the maneuver on television.

"We all said, 'Wow, that's not right.' All the aviators knew what was going on," Goodrow said. "They said, 'That was a bit unusual."'

The pilot was suspended after he landed back at the Burlington International Airport in South Burlington.

"The pilot has been grounded, not as a punishment but so we can provide remedial training in tactics and procedures so this situation does not happen again," Goodrow said. "He might have made other choices to rejoin the formation."

There was no word on how long the pilot would remain grounded.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eGsHszYnYMI
GEORGE LURYE

♠SARKID♠

Wow, thats was one heck of a maneuver...Makes me wonder why he tried to join the formation in the first place and didn't break off and steer clear of the park, but then, I'm not the pilot and I wasn't there so I don't know all the facts.

SJFedor


Steven Fedor, NREMT-P
Master Ambulance Driver
Former Capt, MP, MCPE, MO, MS, GTL, and various other 3-and-4 letter combinations
NESA MAS Instructor, 2008-2010 (#479)

0

It does suck that he got grounded but it looked awsome when he did it though.

1st Lt Ricky Walsh, CAP
Boston Cadet Squadron
NER-MA002 SE, AEO & ESO

Fifinella

There is no way that was any kind of an overshoot.  IMO, someone got caught hotdogging.
Judy LaValley, Maj, CAP
Asst. DCP, LAWG
SWR-LA-001
GRW #2753

Cecil DP

The newspaper articles say that it was a safety violation and he was at 1100 feet, rather than the minimum of 5000 required for acrobatics.  I don't believe that the pilot had 150 miles to get into formation and had to do this.
Quote from: NERMA002 Safety on April 11, 2008, 07:51:23 PM
It does suck that he got grounded but it looked awsome when he did it though.
It looked cool a few years ago when some idiot (O-6), tried to do aerobatics in a B-52. The explosion was the best part
Michael P. McEleney
LtCol CAP
MSG  USA Retired
GRW#436 Feb 85

JayT

Quote from: Cecil DP on April 11, 2008, 08:19:11 PM
The newspaper articles say that it was a safety violation and he was at 1100 feet, rather than the minimum of 5000 required for acrobatics.  I don't believe that the pilot had 150 miles to get into formation and had to do this.
Quote from: NERMA002 Safety on April 11, 2008, 07:51:23 PM
It does suck that he got grounded but it looked awsome when he did it though.
It looked cool a few years ago when some idiot (O-6), tried to do aerobatics in a B-52. The explosion was the best part

Wasn't there a number of family on that particular bird too?
"Eagerness and thrill seeking in others' misery is psychologically corrosive, and is also rampant in EMS. It's a natural danger of the job. It will be something to keep under control, something to fight against."

jimmydeanno

IIRC, that flight was the last flight for a retiring officer, the pilot pulled his shenanigans and crashed.  His family had come out to watch his final flight.
If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law. - Winston Churchill

N Harmon

NATHAN A. HARMON, Capt, CAP
Monroe Composite Squadron

O-Rex

Quote from: N Harmon on April 11, 2008, 08:57:53 PM
Quote from: Cecil DP on April 11, 2008, 08:19:11 PMIt looked cool a few years ago when some idiot (O-6), tried to do aerobatics in a B-52. The explosion was the best part

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQa4PpIkOZU

The B-52 Pilot was Col Bud Holland.  His was actually a case-study at ACSC.  Had a history of hot-dogging, people knew about it and said nothing.  When the forensics were completed, alot of promising careers ended.

Short Field

Quote from: Cecil DP on April 11, 2008, 08:19:11 PM
Quote from: NERMA002 Safety on April 11, 2008, 07:51:23 PM
It does suck that he got grounded but it looked awsome when he did it though.
It looked cool a few years ago when some idiot (O-6), tried to do aerobatics in a B-52. The explosion was the best part

If that was the 1994 Fairchild AFB B-52 crash - the pilot was a hot-dog Lt Col named Holland who had a long record of near misses due to ignoring flight safety rules.  The rules just didn't apply to him and the leadership over the years had covered for him.  The copilot, Mark McGeehan, had tried to ground Holland but was overruled by the leadership in the Wing.  So McGeehan made it a point that whenever Holland flew, McGeehan flew as his copilot - because McGeehan didn't want to risk the life of anyone else in his squadron.  The Wing Commander pleaded guilty at his court-martial to two counts of dereliction of duty. 

If anyone in the chain of command had ever had the guts to take action instead of allow the risky behavior to continue - four men would be alive today.  If it had happened at the air show they were practicing for, hundreds could have died.

We need professionals flying our aircraft - not hot-dogs.

Spacing - MIKE
SAR/DR MP, ARCHOP, AOBD, GTM1, GBD, LSC, FASC, LO, PIO, MSO(T), & IC2
Wilson #2640

Gunner C

Quote from: JThemann on April 11, 2008, 08:24:33 PM
Quote from: Cecil DP on April 11, 2008, 08:19:11 PM
The newspaper articles say that it was a safety violation and he was at 1100 feet, rather than the minimum of 5000 required for acrobatics.  I don't believe that the pilot had 150 miles to get into formation and had to do this.
Quote from: NERMA002 Safety on April 11, 2008, 07:51:23 PM
It does suck that he got grounded but it looked awsome when he did it though.
It looked cool a few years ago when some idiot (O-6), tried to do aerobatics in a B-52. The explosion was the best part

Wasn't there a number of family on that particular bird too?

No - they don't put family members on a 52.

Flying Pig

The family was on the sidelines watching the practice.  The people killed were the crew.  That incident and the history leading up to it is covered at length at the California Highway Patrol Aircrew Course I attended.  It was pretty amazing what happened and the events that lead up to it, nit to mention that the pilot of the B52 had actually been the unit safety officer and Stan/Eval officer.

Flying Pig

There is a case study out about the B-52 crash called

Darker Shades of Blue: A Case Study of Failed Leadership  by Maj. Tony Kern

http://www.crm-devel.org/resources/paper/darkblue/darkblue.htm

Its really an jaw dropping story when you see how this issue failed at so many levels.