Think of this guy if you're having a "bad day".
There I was, just flying along, enjoying the flight At 20,000 Ft., Minding my own business,_____
And what's so cool is they actually pay me to do this!
Hmmm... What's that strange sound? Something feels different!
Hey, why am I looking up?
Whoa here......... What the .......?? Controls aren't working.
Time for a mirror check... Hey, where's the rest of my F-15?
Uh oh, it's over there... I think I've got a definite 'Aw,
sh*t' going on here.
I gotta wonder, am I the first guy to ever experience a
'cockpit-airframe separation anxiety attack'??
OK, now it's my turn. I'm gonna be gone - soon as I find
that frickin' lower handle.
I’m gone !!!!!!
This 'incident' caused the USAF to ground its fleet of F-15's.
How about the guy who took these pictures? Just when it looks
like it's going to be just another 'average day at the office'..!
What caused the mid air break up?
The main "longeron" (stringer) behind the cockpit failed due
to corrosion.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time
(the photographer)...or the wrong place at the wrong
time (the pilot).....For sale, one Air Force flight suit; slightly soiled!
Something like this happened to John Derry over Farnborough in 1952.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly it was a miscalculation in the design of the leading edge of the wing that catastrophically failed when he pulled out of a supersonic dive, the engines broke loose and carried on into the crowd killing 31 and injuring 60 people, the rest of the aeroplane stopped almost instantaneously in flight killing him instantly before crashing to the ground. The aircraft was the De Havilland D110 Prototype a new fighter aircraft, ominously the 2nd prototype due to be at the show had to return to Hatfield because of technical problems.
DeleteMy parents were there and narrowly missed being hit by one of the engines. Father believes the pilot just pulled too much "G" and tore the engines off. IIRC the DH110 had hydraulically boosted controls, with little feedback, which meant over stressing the airframe was very easy to do.
DeleteAs for the F15 - there was another "For sale, one Air Force flight suit; slightly soiled!" incident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LveSc8Lp0ZE
Errr; those aren't photos - they are computer generated images.
ReplyDeleteIt's a real incident though - and a longeron failure, but not corrosion related.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/f15crash.asp
This incident did indeed take place. But the pics are not exactly fake, but are from an animated video that was produced afterwards.
ReplyDelete