Another grim loss for FDX

[AlbieF15]

Sad news today...LAX MD 11 F/O was reportedly lost in an F18 accident over the Washington/Oregon border. This is the second loss of a part time military guy at FedEx this year. If anyone knows a link to a site with some news on the mishap I'd love to see the information.

I did not know this guy personally, but this is not how any of us (especially Guard guys) want to move up in seniority. For all you fighter wannabes, this is the "bad" part of the job we allude to whenever we make posts on going into the military. We avoid discussing the "cost" of the job, but sometimes it reaches out and slaps you in the face and demands your attention.

Bros...let's be careful out there.

Lift your glasses to Gary Fullerton...another fallen warrior, airline pilot, and patriot.

 

[KLJ]

Hear, hear ... our prayers go out to him and his family and friends ...

 

[Joe Jet Pilot]

Perhaps?

Albie,

Perhaps this is the crash you are talking about.

http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=37054&highlight=crash

 

[MK82Man]

Albie -- here is your article from today's Portland Paper. God Bless these aviators and their families. I had to cut the text to 1000 characters

​

The Oregonian

Marine jets collide over Columbia; 2 reservists die

One aviator survives the crash, which occurs during a training flight near Arlington

Thursday, July 22, 2004

STEPHEN BEAVEN and WENDY OWEN

The Oregon Air National Guard dispatched a team of 20 people to support a joint Navy and Marine investigation into the fiery jet fighter collision over Arlington that left two airmen dead Wednesday afternoon. The Marine Forces Reserve was in the process this morning of selecting a lead investigator, said Capt. Patrick Kerr, a spokesman at the reserve's headquarters in New Orleans. Because the reserve has a 24-hour bereavement policy, it is unlikely the names of the two dead airmen and one surviving pilot will be released until Friday, Kerr said. "Any plane crash, if you've noticed, they take months," said Kay Fristad, spokeswoman for the Oregon Air National Guard. "They gather up every piece of material they can from the crash site, and of course there will be interviews with the surviving pilot." The support team headed to Arlington will take tents, cots, power generation, air conditioning and communications equipment needed to support the investigation, which also will involve the Federal Aviation Administration, Fristad said. "We're governed by FAA regulations and rules as well," she said. Both F/A-18 jets took off from the Oregon Air National Guard Base at PortlandInternationalAirport, according to a Guard spokesman. They were conducting a low-altitude training mission when they crashed into the Columbia River near Arlington, 135 miles east of Portland. At least two of the Marine reservists parachuted from the burning planes. Local police agencies launched a search-and-rescue effort Wednesday afternoon as military investigators began trying to determine what caused the crash.The collision sent debris raining down on both sides of the river. Witnesses reported seeing smoke, flames and parts of the planes falling to the ground. "It was deafening," said Jaydeane Hoskot, who works in the clubhouse of China Creek Golf Course in Arlington. "It was incredibly loud. I thought it was a bomb." Hoskot said it appeared that the front of one plane struck the wing of the other, sending both spiraling downward in flames. She saw two parachutes shortly after the collision. "We heard an explosion that sounded like thunder," said Lorena Woods, who was driving a senior citizens transportation bus in downtown Arlington. "I looked up and saw smoke and debris flying everywhere." The crash was reported at 2:29 p.m., and both bodies were recovered within hours. One was tangled in a parachute and pulled from the river by fishermen. The other was recovered on the Washington side.The surviving crew member parachuted to safety near Arlington, according to Lt. Bruce Carne of the Oregon State Police. The Marine suffered an injured ankle and was taken to Mid-ColumbiaMedicalCenter in The Dalles. He was released Wednesday night.Wade Kilby was mowing his lawn not far from the crash site when he saw one plane hit the other. The plane that was hit, he said, exploded, broke apart and landed in the river. He saw two people parachute from the planes. The man from the second plane landed in the river and was recovered by the fishermen. The other man, from the first plane, drifted onto some grazing land on the western edge of Arlington, he said. Kilby jumped into his Jeep and headed for the airman, as did several other people. "He was talking," Kilby said. "His right leg was bothering him. He said he stood up and tried to walk when he first landed there and couldn't do it." "He wanted to know if we saw three parachutes, and nobody said anything," Kilby said. "We only saw two parachutes." Andrew David and two other tribal fishermen were setting nets on the Oregon side of the river when they saw a ball of flame above them and two parachutes. One of the men landed in the river not far from them. "We figured we could help him," said David, a member of the Warm Springs tribe. "He was starting to sink because of all of the stuff on his parachute." But they were unable to pull him aboard. So David held the man's head above water, and they piloted the boat to shore. By the time they arrived, however, they discovered the man was dead. The airmen were attached to the VMFA-134 strike squadron - nicknamed "The Smokes" - a Marine Reserve unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. Although from California, the men had been temporarily based in Portland for their flights, said Capt. Mike Braibish, spokesman for the Oregon National Guard. Braibish said seven Miramar-based aircraft have been training in Portland since July 11. One of the planes was an F/A-18C, which is a single-seat aircraft, and the other was an F/A-18D, which seats two. Debris from the crash was spread over at least a 12-mile area. A smoking ejector seat landed along Interstate 84 near the Arlington exit. A flaming, basketball-sized piece of debris landed in a local swimming pool, but a lifeguard had already yelled for everyone to get out of the water. Although it is unclear what caused the two jets to collide, "Midairs typically occur when they're doing air combat maneuvering training," said F/A-18 pilot Peter B.Field, an aviation consultant in Chesterfield, Mo.The F-18 costs about $57 million and has either one or two seats depending on the version, according to The Associated Press. It was first test-flown in 1978.

Reporters Melissa Navas, Amy Hsuan, Bryan Denson and Alex Pulaski and researchers Kathleen Blythe and Margie Gultry of The Oregonian contributed to this story.Stephen Beaven: 503-294-7663; [email protected]

 

[maddoggiestyle]

Gary and I were in the same new hire class. I also was his relief pilot when he was on IOE on the MD-11 a few months ago. I will always remember him to be a nice guy and truly a class act. He also was a dam good pilot. He surely will be missed by his brothers here at FedEx.

 

[Eagleflip]

There is no doubt that all forms of aviation are difficult to perform safely. Commercial flying is full of manageable (but quantifiable) dangers.

Nevertheless, it remains obvious that we should all be very proud of those who fly in the military, for they are much more likely to work at the edge, that area where there are obvious dangers that rise up from time to time to claim the unlucky and careless. And no, this is no attempt to restart that old flame of "who's better, military or civilian?"

Even seemingly "simple" military flights are dangerous merely by their very nature. Low altitude navigation, intercepts, tactical formation or just flying enroute to and from the working airspace all include a variety of difficulties that most of us in the commercial world do not encounter. Having known that life, and while it was most wonderful, it was fraught with potential danger that most of us escaped by great fortune, good training, and help from the good Lord.

Any fighter pilot out there will look at this accident and tell you "there, but the grace of God, go I." Midairs happen all too frequently and claim the lives of our best.

Let's just use this as a small reminder to thank those who serve. They deserve more than a casual thought or envious glance.

My prayers go to the families involved.