Air Force Football Flyby Cost Pilot Wings
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Air Force says six pilots who participated in a spectacular flyover before an Iowa football game have been disciplined for flying too low and too fast. The lead pilot is giving up his right to fly military aircraft. The Air Force says the four Talon T-38 Trainer jets flew just 16 feet above the stadium's press box when they wowed 70,000 fans inside Kinnick Stadium before More.. Iowa hosted Ohio State on Nov. 20. The jets also approached speeds of 400 knots during both the flyover and practice runs the day before. The limit is 300 knots. Col. Russell Mack is commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing. He says while he understands fans attending the game enjoyed the flyover, the rules are meant to insure safety.
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Hmmm, I didn't hear any complaints in the crowd about the pilots flying too low or too fast. IMHO, the Air Force was wrong.
I'd like to see proof they were disciplined for this
I think does were the Navy's F-18s
hey
@santos- nope, they were single tails, not -18s. From the video, I think they were T-38 trainers, but I could be wrong.
yes those were T-38's
Outstanding! If I were "the man in charge" I would've given all medals, not disciplined them. The people loved it.
As a retired Flight Engineer on KB-50J tankers. I enjoyed the video of the "Eagle" refueling --especially how gracefully he pulled away from the tanker. I refueled F-100's to F-4. Very dangerous work which required top-notch skill from all involved. I do believe I had the pleasure of refueling B/G Chuck Yeager when he flew F-100S.
noone was hurt,noone complained,100knots and a few feet diference!!! REALLY!!!!!! Add the DELTA incident and you have; what is really wrong with today's thinking ,shame on ya!!! Tsgt. retired USAF
300 or 400 knots if for some reason one of the planes had gone it wouldn't have mattered. Discipline yes. Taking his wings is overkill. I was in the corps during the Viet nam war. My brother was USAF Thank God I went on the Corps and not the aur farce. TOO much politics
No crash, no bodies, what the dealyo? Similar to that martyred XO who was making videos in "poor taste" only to PC minded civilians, when the brass starts caving to a critical minority of the public, those underneath them get the shaft. To be honest this isn't limited to the military, happens iun the corporate world all the time too.
I don't believe that was 16 feet either.
I THINK IT WAS GREAT AND THE CROWD SEEM TO LOVE IT ALSO.I UNDERSTAND SAFETY BUT LET GIVE THE PEOPLES WHAT THEY WANT.
As much as I enjoy watching all pilots do there thing, I have to say that safety is very important, and when an accident happens, you cannot reverse the harm it's caused. I do feel that the punishment was too harsh, the lead pilot has to use good judgment to prevent a future fly over that could go bad...They are all GREAT! Pilots, we need to keep it that way.
Those are -38s, ygbsm! Or 4 two-seat F-5s, but that would be rather improbable. And #4 was flown weak, I'd have pulled his wings in a tick-tock, not lead's. If your lead hits the ground, you better hit the ground in perfect formation. I can tell you exactly why those rules are there. It's not for safety, you want safety, park all the jets. We fly jets, dude, it ain't supposed to be safe. It's supposed to be effective. The rules have all come along in the not too distant past to satisfy the morons who could not possibly get promoted (their most important mission) if something -- anything -- happened on their watch. Not saying the Col is one of those, but I'd be very concerned by #4 -- he's too close not to be focused on #3, yet he's way out of position, at exactly the time he should be looking tight. Then I'd pull lead aside......
I thorouly enjoy the display of American power--disagree with lead pilots loss of wings!
Typical, very typical of the Air Force. Desk jockeys one and all who make up the upper officer corps. If they ever flew it was a long, long time ago. As a one time flight safety officer for the FAA and the military I saw nothing wrong or unsafe with the flyover. Now for the reasons for the discipline. My observation saw nothing that was unsafe or inappropriate with the speed they were traveling. Usually, faster is safer except nearing the sound barrier near the ground. The altitude AGL over the stadium seemed safe and appropriate. I did not see any of the aircraft anywhere near 16 feet from any structure at the stadium. In my conclusion Col. Russell Mack is wrong. I would like to see any flight recorder data/video/film along with the actual reg.'s governing flyover rules. Once again, the Air Force shows a lack of judgment. I am a pilot too.
considering exaust from the jets and the effects it could have on todlers hearing i agree they flew to low.
Of course you didn't hear any complaints.. They didn't have an accident and plow into them... I enjoy these as much as anyone but i understand the need for the safety rules and if anyone should know better than break those rules it was those pilots... I do commend the pilot who gave up his right to flight, I'm certain he did that in order to save the other pilots from losing theirs...
Don't they train to be aggressive and hotshot? Their hard deck was well above 16 feet. Even though their Air force....Still a large punishment for such a fantastic flyover! I would have cheered my nuts off!! The powers that be need to pull it out of their backsides! This was a great promo for the Air Force....I wish it was the Navy!
Give 'em back their wings! What a bunch of Winnies.
We need pilots... They goofed, a milder discipline should be enough!!! They endangered a lot of people with these flyovers but that is the way it is...
Christina2012 --STFU Wendy Whiner!! Do you roll up the windows and turn on the a/c in your soccermom SUV and put earmuffs on the kids while you're sitting in traffic? Never been to an airshow have ya? Grow a pair will ya? Rules, rules, gotta have rules, and they have to be enforced, and there has to be zero tolerance.... Oh my god, look at what could have happened.... Well, ya know, boys and girls, a flyover at 10,000 feet isn't much to look at. The Thunderbirds and Blue angels have 50ft off the deck flyovers as part of their show, They do it because they can, because they've been trained to do it. Yes, safety is important, but tell me how these pilots were really being "unsafe". Once upon a time people like me joined the military aviation community because they had a passion for aircraft, and flying. I'm glad I left.
Standard Navy flyby. Nothing impressive about it at all. Seriously.
That wasnt low. NO HARM DONE, no big deal.
I looked this up further. The lead pilot submitted a request to leave the AF prior to the flyover. The stunt cost him 2 months pay apparently.
In Nam it was commonplace to fly upside down as a flyover returning from missions about a hundred feet off the deck. So low I could see the pilots face. Now that was cool!
Just some fat officer behind a desk wanting to flex his "power". The people in the stadium probably wouldn't of mind if they went even lower and faster! :)
They're T-38s, period. Col. Mack still flies with the T-38 squadron, so he's not "some fat officer behind a desk." Yeah the flyover kicked ass, and it sucks they lost their wings over it, but pilots that break rules don't last long, civilian or military. Sure Air Force is more strict than the TLAR Navy, but: http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/family-says-grounded-pilots-392423.html
Those rules are there to protect everyone, now if a pilot was to pass over your house like that and breaks the sound barrier an bust all of your windows out, damage a few walls in your home. Hey can we use the approach, well they didn't hurt anybody.....
Too bad. Seems they wre just outside the envelope and wonder how they knew. Anyway Go Gators we beat both those teams.
didn't look too low to me but I don't know the regs for flyovers at public events, lead pilot shouldn't have lost his wings tho, it's not like they were performing any areial maneuver that would be considered dangerous unless there was a danger of a birdstrike.
I did not hear one complaint from the crowd! This is what Political Correctness has done to our military now..... Sad don't you think folks!
http://militarytimes.com/blogs/afteraction/tag/maj-christopher-kopacek/ 16335073, Here's your proof.