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<blockquote data-quote="BillM" data-source="post: 4339740" data-attributes="member: 45785"><p>I did five years at Nellis AFB, NV. 1978-1983. As a still photographer. During the war in Vietnam somebody noticed that most of the USAF pilots lost died flying their first ten missions. Navy had similar results. They started their Top Gun competitions in San Diego, and the USAF started RED FLAG exercises at Nellis.</p><p></p><p>Got there in mid-May, out on my 1st aircraft accident there in mid-June. An F-100 flown by an Illinois ANG veteran pilot hit just below the crest of a hill at about 400kts. Pilot had 4000+ hours in the airframe, and 3 combat tours in Nam. Ejection seat fired. Seat belt about cut him in half, and his head hit the edge of the only partially open canopy and removed the top of his skull... </p><p>Accident board was having a really hard time figuring out what happened. There was a crater full of debris, but a lot of debris also flew over the top of the hill and scattered nearly a mile down the back side of the hill. For a while, there was a suggestion on the chalk board that we hold a seance and ask the pilot what happened...</p><p></p><p>Several weeks after the accident we found a piece of the pilot's skull in a bush. I carried it back to the base hospital in a zip lock bag I had in my camera bag. </p><p></p><p>Also, we kept finding tufts of coarse gray fire all over. Including in the crater. Eventually figured out he crashed on a poor innocent coyote out minding its own business. The informal result was phrased as "The pilot had his fangs out down to his navel." He was leaning forward and twisted around watching the bombs go off on the target he'd just hit, and unaware of how close he was to the ground. </p><p></p><p>This was in the desert, and the area was covered in mesquite bushes, most about 3' in diameter and height. He was apparently thinking they were trees of 30' to 40' in diameter and height, and so unaware of how close he was to the rising ground... </p><p></p><p>I was there five years and around 100 aircraft accidents. I don't remember meeting him, but was also involved in the investigation Capt. Sullenberger helped investigate and described in his book, Highest Duty. He mentions his friend Mark Postai, and Mark's wife, Linda, who was a photographer with me when I met her. And I did some of the photography in the accident that killed him, and made her a widow. And of the fatal accident that also killed a couple guys he'd worked and flown with on an aircraft he'd had problems with and written up the day of their fatal accident. </p><p></p><p>I got out of the photography biz in 1985, did another dozen years in satellite communications before retiring, and I've been retired for closing on 27 years. STILL do mostly black humor. Sometimes the choices are laugh or cry. I refuse to cry. <img src="/images/smilies/new/laugh6.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":laugh6:" title="Laugh6 :laugh6:" data-shortname=":laugh6:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillM, post: 4339740, member: 45785"] I did five years at Nellis AFB, NV. 1978-1983. As a still photographer. During the war in Vietnam somebody noticed that most of the USAF pilots lost died flying their first ten missions. Navy had similar results. They started their Top Gun competitions in San Diego, and the USAF started RED FLAG exercises at Nellis. Got there in mid-May, out on my 1st aircraft accident there in mid-June. An F-100 flown by an Illinois ANG veteran pilot hit just below the crest of a hill at about 400kts. Pilot had 4000+ hours in the airframe, and 3 combat tours in Nam. Ejection seat fired. Seat belt about cut him in half, and his head hit the edge of the only partially open canopy and removed the top of his skull... Accident board was having a really hard time figuring out what happened. There was a crater full of debris, but a lot of debris also flew over the top of the hill and scattered nearly a mile down the back side of the hill. For a while, there was a suggestion on the chalk board that we hold a seance and ask the pilot what happened... Several weeks after the accident we found a piece of the pilot's skull in a bush. I carried it back to the base hospital in a zip lock bag I had in my camera bag. Also, we kept finding tufts of coarse gray fire all over. Including in the crater. Eventually figured out he crashed on a poor innocent coyote out minding its own business. The informal result was phrased as "The pilot had his fangs out down to his navel." He was leaning forward and twisted around watching the bombs go off on the target he'd just hit, and unaware of how close he was to the ground. This was in the desert, and the area was covered in mesquite bushes, most about 3' in diameter and height. He was apparently thinking they were trees of 30' to 40' in diameter and height, and so unaware of how close he was to the rising ground... I was there five years and around 100 aircraft accidents. I don't remember meeting him, but was also involved in the investigation Capt. Sullenberger helped investigate and described in his book, Highest Duty. He mentions his friend Mark Postai, and Mark's wife, Linda, who was a photographer with me when I met her. And I did some of the photography in the accident that killed him, and made her a widow. And of the fatal accident that also killed a couple guys he'd worked and flown with on an aircraft he'd had problems with and written up the day of their fatal accident. I got out of the photography biz in 1985, did another dozen years in satellite communications before retiring, and I've been retired for closing on 27 years. STILL do mostly black humor. Sometimes the choices are laugh or cry. I refuse to cry. :laugh6: [/QUOTE]
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