Team's Season Is In Question, AF Says

There are few details, but the U.S. Air Force has confirmed that one of the pilots of the Thunderbirds demonstration team was fatally injured Thursday in a training accident.

In a news release posted to the af.mil website, the Air Force said "A U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot was killed when his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed over the Nevada Test and Training Range April 4, 2018, at approximately 10:30 a.m. during a routine aerial demonstration training flight.

"The identity of the pilot is being withheld for 24-hours pending next of kin notification. An investigation is being conducted into the cause of the mishap.

The team’s participation at March Air Reserve Base’s “The March Field Air and Space Expo” has been cancelled. It is unknown how this accident will impact the remainder of the 2018 Thunderbirds season."

Thunderbirds aircraft have been involved in two other accidents in the past two years. In June 2017, one of the team's F-16s skidded off a wet runway at Dayton, OH and flipped over. Two people were injured in that accident. The Air Force attributed the accident to the runway conditions and a strong wind gust as the plane was landing.

In June 2016, a Thunderbirds pilot ejected from his plane during a flyover at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. That pilot steered his aircraft away from populated areas before punching out of the airplane. The Air Force attributed that accident to a maintenance issue. "After beginning landing procedures, the pilot inadvertently rotated the throttle, placing it into an engine cut-off position," the accident review board determined. "Normally, this full rotation cannot occur unless a throttle trigger is affirmatively actuated or pressed. However, the throttle trigger was 'stuck' in the 'pressed' position. The accident investigation board observed debris accumulation in the throttle trigger, combined with wear on the trigger assembly."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.af.mil