F-21 Kfir crash, NAS Fallon

He blogged just this morning about having a streamer drogue chute that he was able to recover from. The crash photo on a news site shows a half deployed drogue chute. It's not good either way but I'm really hoping it isn't the good Cap'n.
 
///AMG said:
They use the Kfirs and Hawker Hunters to provide advanced red air simulations for us. Real cool jets, I'd love to strap into a J79 powered one man rocket one day. The Kfir is seriously about the most ridiculous dinosaur eating loud maker I have ever seen
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When I was a kid I was a jet mech (AD eqv) on F4s. Only thing better than one J79 is two.
 
chunk75 said:
He blogged just this morning about having a streamer drogue chute that he was able to recover from. The crash photo on a news site shows a half deployed drogue chute. It's not good either way but I'm really hoping it isn't the good Cap'n.
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I believe it's him, unfortunately. I know some guys who served with him and said he was an outstanding leader and pilot, very will respected. A friend's father just passes as well, a former RF-4C driver for years. Tomorrow I go fly into Phoenix for the big static display, I will have beer/shot for both of them and throw a nickel on the grass.
 
bunk22 said:
I believe it's him, unfortunately. I know some guys who served with him and said he was an outstanding leader and pilot, very will respected. A friend's father just passes as well, a former RF-4C driver for years. Tomorrow I go fly into Phoenix for the big static display, I will have beer/shot for both of them and throw a nickel on the grass.
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I saw that it was. Going to Willie? Go talk to the AF HH-60 crew there, squadronmates of mine.
 
Word on the street (confirmed in a way in the recent press) was that NFL was foggy, snowing, and windy at the time of the crash. Apparently multiple missed approaches on PAR, and then the obvious final one. There are a lot of mishaps where you just shake your head and think that wouldn't be you, but this one sends some chills up my spine, just thinking about how horrible those last few minutes must have been. Boxed into a corner, probably low on gas, out of options in an unforgiving jet. Anyone who flies in this business has a primal instict of mentally making the impossible possible when that gas gauge is screaming at you, and you know there isn't another way out. That being said, it's one thing when it happens to a new guy like myself, but it really makes you think about this being a dangerous game when it happens to a retired O-6 with thousands of hrs of Hornet/Viper/Skyhawk/Kfir time. In his own words, the snakes are out there just waiting to get you at literally any minute. Not implying that the good Capt did anything wrong here (I'm sure there was a good reason he was stuck where he was), but an old XO of mine once said that you are only seconds away from losing it all at any given moment in a fighter. I think that rings particularly true right now. RIP Lex, and I wish I had the words that you certainly would have had for this occasion.
 
///AMG said:
Word on the street (confirmed in a way in the recent press) was that NFL was foggy, snowing, and windy at the time of the crash. Apparently multiple missed approaches on PAR, and then the obvious final one. There are a lot of mishaps where you just shake your head and think that wouldn't be you, but this one sends some chills up my spine, just thinking about how horrible those last few minutes must have been. Boxed into a corner, probably low on gas, out of options in an unforgiving jet. It's one thing when it happens to a new guy like myself, but it really makes you think about this being a dangerous game when it happens to a retired O-6 with undoubtedly thousands of hrs of Hornet/Viper/Skyhawk/Kfir time. In his own words, the snakes are out there just waiting to get you at literally any minute. Not implying that the good Capt did anything wrong here (I'm sure there was a good reason he was stuck where he was), but an old XO of mine once said that you are only seconds away from losing it all at any given moment in a fighter. I think that rings particularly true right now. RIP Lex, and I wish I had the words that you certainly would have had for this occasion.
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Multiple PARs and he couldn't break out? Granted, KNFLs PAR mins aren't much different from ILS mins (for those who don't know, PARs are generally lower than Cat I ILS). And, divert options aren't many from NLF, apart from RNO and TNP, esp with a short-legged plane.
 
MikeD said:
Multiple PARs and he couldn't break out? Granted, KNFLs PAR mins aren't much different from ILS mins (for those who don't know, PARs are generally lower than Cat I ILS). And, divert options aren't many from NLF, apart from RNO and TNP, esp with a short-legged plane.
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Sounds like it. My *guess* is that he knew what he had to do, did it, and it didn't work out. I know he mentioned in previous posts how scared he had been a couple of times at the quality of the local NFL PAR service......granted hard IMC warrants a qualified controller with experience, but in sunny Fallon, I doubt the experience base there is that current either way. Even in hindsight, if that was the case, I would have done the exact same thing if a divert wasn't an option. Punch out of a perfectly good jet that's out of gas vs taking the 90/10 chance that you will break out reasonably close to the runway after dipping below mins.....I'll take my chances every day of the week. Maybe not next time I go to Fallon though.....
 
///AMG said:
Sounds like it. My *guess* is that he knew what he had to do, did it, and it didn't work out. I know he mentioned in previous posts how scared he had been a couple of times at the quality of the local NFL PAR service......granted hard IMC warrants a qualified controller with experience, but in sunny Fallon, I doubt the experience base there is that current either way. Even in hindsight, if that was the case, I would have done the exact same thing if a divert wasn't an option. Punch out of a perfectly good jet that's out of gas vs taking the 90/10 chance that you will break out reasonably close to the runway after dipping below mins.....I'll take my chances every day of the week. Maybe not next time I go to Fallon though.....
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Riding a PAR down to touchdown is something a very good controller can do, but it's still a dicey proposition in 0/0. Remember, you have a seat for a reason. Your perfectly good jet that's out of gas, isn't a perfectly good jet anymore. That's why "controlled bailout areas" exist around airfields.
 
MikeD said:
Riding a PAR down to touchdown is something a very good controller can do, but it's still a dicey proposition in 0/0. Remember, you have a seat for a reason. Your perfectly good jet that's out of gas, isn't a perfectly good jet anymore. That's why "controlled bailout areas" exist around airfields.
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Next time we cross paths Mike, I buy the beer and we have a discussion about this. I'm sure you have some good pearls to pass along
 
Sad to hear, RIP to the pilot. Out east here we don't get the fighters and tactical jets you guys see every day out west, occasion f18 or f15 but that's it. We do get our share of choppers and Ospreys though.
 
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