Pilot dies in Inherent Resolve
Inherent Resolve, the war against ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State, has claimed the life of an unnamed Air Force pilot when he had trouble taking off in his F-16 Flying Falcon and was unable to land again, according to Stars & Stripes. The military spokespeople aren’t saying where the incident occurred, only that it didn’t happen in Iraq or Syria;
The Defense Department is calling it a “noncombat-related incident”, but acknowledged the aircraft was on its way to Iraq or Syria to participate in ongoing operations against the Islamic State when things went wrong.
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The pilot’s death constitutes the third U.S. military fatality from Operation Inherent Resolve. On Oct. 23, Marine Lance Cpl. Sean Neal died in Iraq from a noncombat related injury. On Oct. 1, Marine Cpl. Jordan Spears was lost at sea while conducting flight operations in the North Arabian Gulf.
Category: Blue Skies, Terror War
Fly High my brother…Fly High….with the Angels.
God bless the pilot and the family.
3E9…What you said.
We’ve had forward operating bases in Jordan since the 80s, prior to DS/DS. Shaw F16s used to come through every summer on their way to train there. God bless and our prayers are with you.
Yeah, that’s Fighting Falcon, not Flying Falcon, more commonly known as a Viper. The photo shown isn’t a USAF F-16, ours don’t have conformal fuel tanks on the upper fuselage. I was reading Stars and Stripes on FB earlier and they blamed maintenance in the headline. A bit premature I’d say. The mishap/accident investigation has just started.
AF aircraft accident/mishap investigations are typically conducted by pilots. They seem to find an inordinate amount of aircraft crashes are caused by poor maintenance, rather than pilot error. I can’t figure out why.
That said, prayers for the pilot’s family.
Latest news is the jet was out of Shaw AFB, SC. Capt. William H. Dubois was the pilot. http://www.wistv.com/story/27525206/shaw-pilot-killed-in-f-16-plane-crash