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Kevin E. Schmidt / Quad-City Times via Zuma Press
A fireball rises after a Soviet-era Czech L-39 military training jet with the Hoppers Flight Jet Team crashed, killing the pilot during the Quad-City Airshow on Saturday.
Jeff Cook / Quad-City Times via Zuma Press
The jet was flying in formation shortly before it crashed alongside the I-80 highway. It plowed into a field near the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center in northern Davenport, Fries said.
-- Reported by Reuters
A jet crashed, Saturday, at the Quad City Air Show in Iowa. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
Leave a Comment:
This is most unfortunate, a real tragedy.
It's one thing when aircraft accidents happen at random times and places; they're bad enough then, with normally very few people close at hand to see, hear, and just experience the catastrophe as it unfolds.
Although it's still fairly rare, air show accidents normally involve thousands of people watching them happen. I wasn't able to attend this show, but a number of my colleagues were in attendance, some of them actually working there.
It's going to be a rough evening and a difficult Labor Day weekend for a lot of folks.
Big time bummer!!!!
Airshows have a disproportionate number of casualties. Old planes? Old pilots? New technology? Inexperienced pilots? Hmmm.
There was a crash at the same airshow last year, and at the Reno Air Races just about 6 mo's ago: just too many crashes of these vintage planes that try and reenact old tricks over many years.
Air frames of today's planes are continually tested for fatigue and stress. Isn't it just possible that these museum-vintage relics belong on the runway and not in the air - after hundreds of thousands of air hours?
Just saying....
L-39 is NOT a "vintage aircraft" by any stretch of the imagination - it's still being manufactured (IIRC)
don't speak of which you have no knowledge, late. There is NO WAY that aircraft could have even approached the fatigue lifetime - it's not like (even as a TRAINER) that it flew anywhere NEAR as much as ANY commercial jet aircraft.
let me nominate Forest Roamer and Canary-in-the-coal-mine for imbecile status. Maybe if they would just comment on picking the wax out of their ears or some such they have first hand experience doing.
Do tell us wj, why are they "imbeciles"? It's not obvious from your statement. Please provide some reasoning when you make a broad insulting statement like that.
Tell us so we can judge you too.
They should require that these old pilots just stay on the ground and yell at empty chairs, instead of fly decrepit Czech planes in order to get their 'patriotic' jollies.
There was NOT a crash at this airshow last year.
For the info of all just to set the record straight on the type of aircraft which crashed.
The Czechoslovakian L-39 was built as the successor to their earlier trainer, the L-29 Delphin. Design work began in 1966, and the first prototype made its initial flight on 4 November 1968. The idea of the design was to marry an efficient, powerful turbofan engine to a sleek, streamlined fuselage, resulting in a strong, economical performer which would become the next standard jet trainer for the Warsaw Pact. Full-scale production was delayed until late 1972 due to apparent problems with the design of the air intakes, but these difficulties were overcome and the type went on to be a great success with the Soviet, Czech and East German air forces, among others.
Three main variants were produced. The L-39C was built as a pure trainer and was used by numerous air forces throughout Eastern Europe beginning in 1974 and continuing through today. The armed weapons-trainer variant is called the L-39ZA, and a close-support and ground-attack version is called the L-39ZO . In addition to those mentioned above, the L-39 has been exported to numerous countries, including Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Iraq, Libya, Estonia, and Kyrghyzstan. A modernized derivative of the Albatros, the L-59, is still being built in the Czech Republic. Another modernized, but very different version, the L-39MS, actually has much more in common with the L-59 than the L-39, despite its designation.
As of this writing, the L-39 is the most popular jet warbird in the world, with over 220 believed to be actively flying in the USA alone.
tell yah what wj - I'll wager that I've FORGOTTEN more about aircraft than you KNOW. Mostly LARGER aircraft.
Sadly, this is just an unfortunate byproduct of flying high performance jet aircraft. Especially vintage foreign aircraft. Accidents happen and people do get injured and/or die. As I understand it, statistically accidents are fairly rare, but usually a great deal of attentions is given to them. Especially when crashes like this happen at airshows.
My compassion goes out to the family and friends of this (from all accounts) wonderful man. May they take solace in the fact that he was doing what he loved to do.
I live across the river from this air show and I would attend if I remembered it was going on every year ;-)
When I was in the air force, I was the EMT on the flightline so everytime someone was up I was on call. I learned then that flying any type of performance jet aircraft has inherient risks AND the pilots know these risks better than any other non-pilot.
THEY STILL LOVE TO FLY THEM!
My two best friends took me up in a warthog once and we flew together side by side. The sheer thrill of being in one was beyond belief. I truly understand why these pilots do what they do. They make it as safe as they can but there is always going to be accidents. Always. Those two pilots that I went up with were coming in for a landing together and touched wings (we think because of a wind sheer.) They both died and I was first on the scene. I took comfort in the fact that I know they died doing what they absolutely LOVED to do. I still continued on the flightline until my dd214 came through almost 8 months later. Once again, these pilots know the risks!
I am assuming that the FFA does require metal fatigue testing after XXX number of hrs on these jets as they require on any other kind of jet but that still doesn't prevent mechanical accidents. Pilots can pass out from any number of reasons and crash. The L39 does have more accidents because there are so many more of them out there in private hands. It is like blaming Toyota for having more accidents in their cars than Yugos do.
Ps. As an Athiest I understand how religious people express their sympathy. It kind of bugs me to see it but I agree with the sentiment even though I would not express it in that way.
Pss. Someone on this thread said something about why didn't the video show the terror on the face of the pilot as he was crashing. I know for a fact that they would not be showing terror, it would be showing concentration on how to get out of the situation they were in IF they were conscious. Pilots are all trained on how to react in emergency situations.
Peace.
Last year many more people died from choking on or simply eating bad food in restaurants than at air shows and air races, yet people still go out to eat. I think that's probably why other people go out to eat, I think they go out just to see these people choke or get sick.
Last year THOUSANDS of people died either from alcohol related illnesses or alcohol involved traffic accidents. I think that's why people go to bars, I think they go to either watch people drinking themselves to death or getting really hammered before they go out and drive.
And boltonbill, what the heck is a backdraught???? Did you mean to say back draft? Back drafts among other places happen in fires. The air behind an aircraft is called a slip stream. Sheesh, all these expert opinions and analysis from people who would appear much smarter if they would just be quiet.
These unfortunate things do happen, they just happen. May god have mercy on the family and give them comfort during their hours of this horrible ordeal. May you know that your Loved one is now back home with our father in heaven.
There is no god. And if there was, he wouldn't deserve worship - look what the jerk did (or failed to do) here. Get over religion and learn some real coping mechanisms - or better yet, help advance science.
Plork-
I think Lonnie was just demonstrating a little generosity of the soul; a little humanity towards someone else who has been hurt.
You, on the other hand, are just being a prick for no specific reason.
I hesitate to reply to your post Plork, because I agree with some of what you say. In many kinds of Christianity, God ceased intervening directly in the affairs of men after the death of Christ and the New Testament. Mankind has free will, and we live and die by how we use that free will. People who believe in God find comfort and solace in God; it doesn't have to be wished or hoped for, it comes naturally. Many folks believe differently, even if their official faith does not. These folks probably missed Sunday School too often as a child. For non-believers, it must all sound like gobbledygook.
greg I think you could best help science by flying a jet too ..... remove yourself from the gene pool
It's not GODs job to live your life! You, yourself are responsible for the big things in life.
Do you get it now?
The reason being is, it's all about intelligence, and the ability to recognize it in not only yourself, but within others also.
A pilot is a very strange duck,
I happen to have met a few in my younger years.
And GOD does smile on them ALL.
Yes, he's being a jerk. But he's 100% correct. If there is a god, he doesn't seem to care about us one way or another. The only reason any of you believe otherwise is because of an old book which has been proven to be derived from older books. Okay, so the bible is plagiarized stories from other mythologies that were changed (by people!) to suit Christians. So...if God doesn't interfere with the lives of people, and the bible is written by people.... why in the world do you believe?
It doesn't matter who is right or wrong in THIS situation, the person who said "May God have mercy on his family" was just expressing her sympathy in the way she was raised. It could be a simple expression, like when someone sneezes, "God bless you", do you really want God to bless you every time you sneeze?
One thing I learned about arguing with someone about their religion. What do you expect to gain? Suppose you WIN the argument and somehow convince someone who has followed God all their lives, that He doesn't exist. You have stripped that person of their belief and coping system, you have shattered their spiritual beliefs. Why? All for the sake of proving yourself right? I'd say that's pretty immature and selfish of you, don't you think?
Let people believe in what they want. As long as they don't push their religion on you, they aren't hurting anyone. And honestly, they may be a bit misguided in just what the Creator or Higher Power truly is, but that's just the limitation of the human brain. We pray to a mental image that our brains can understand. When in reality, a true Higher Power, is most likely far more complex than we can possibly understand. But I believe with science, we get closer to understanding the nature of the Universe and the true concept of "God" every day.
Be like a good scientist, never rule anything out, no matter how far-fetched it seems.
Well, since it seems there seems to be a discussion on God, let me just say the myth lives on...
Plork, Z, and Dev keep drinking the Kool-aid
To the goddy Mc-god gods...you are such a bunch of deluded toss-pots.
Blaming or crediting god is like blaming or crediting unicorns or mermaids. Grow the 4uck up.
lol...you ignorant iron agers kill me.
PS pray for me, and I'll think for you :)
every time I ask the mythical supreme entity to "take me" ("kill me", whatever), there is no response. You mentally maladjusted "believers" can "believe" anything you WISH - that doesn't make it TRUTH - just "conjecture" - yet another wild ass DREAM...
GO AHEAD...MAKE MY DAY!
Stamets:
I'm amused at the way you self-justify your gobbledygook by stating that those deem your gobbledygook to be gobbledygook must necessarily be non-believers in your gobbledygook. You demonstrate an amazing misuse of the human mind.
Stamets - It's gobbledygook for many would-be believers, as well. Having survived the national decimation of George W. Bush, how could anyone not question the presence of a higher power?
@canary in; will pay for your bus fare to N.J. if you promise to jump off the George Washington Bridge!! this way you can say hi to Saddam and Osama for me!!!!
Whether you believe in the bible or not... the fact is.. if everyone in the world lived by this "dusty old book" as you say... it would sure be a nicer place to live!! Myself am a believer and to all the non-belivers... If I'm wrong.. then nothing happens when I die.... what if YOU'RE wrong?
ah, yes - Pascal's wager yet again. (google it if you don't know what it means). I just happen to accept one mythical supreme entity LESS than you do. Of course, in general, there's nothing WRONG with most of the book (historical inaccuracy notwithstanding) - it's the dogma bulls hit that is the show stopper for any intelligent person (and the identical statement can be made about ANY religious text from ANY cult).
Arrogance has given pain and suffering to many throughout history. Your "I cannot be wrong, I know everything" attitude may lead you into trouble someday... You cannot disprove God's existence anymore than I can prove it.
No. They'll cope just like the rest of us. The problem with belief in Christian mythology is that the believers think they can use the government to force their morality and beliefs on the rest of us....or in rarer cases, with violence. I, for one, am sick of it. If they could keep their belief to themselves, fine, but they can't. They believe they're right and I'm just pointing out at they are not right. Maybe that will make them stop trying to indoctrinate me and my kids into their cult.
I just read all of those DISGUSTING and DESPICABLE comments. As a loved one of the pilot that died the family does NOT find comfort in people bashing God and Christianity. Its politically correct people like you who are ruining this country. What ever happened to being nice. You don't have to believe in God but this is not the place to express those beliefs...its direspectful. This beautiful man just lost his life. Thank you so much Lonnie for your kind words. They are appreciated.
Megpy, your comment makes the best sense of anything said so far. My thanks! My sincere condolences to those who lost a loved one and friend in this tragedy. This gentleman obviously died doing what he loved. If it is time to go, what more can one ask?
This is always a possibility at an air show. My sincere condolences.
LTC Rattus, USA, ret.
sad isnt it
sometimes the dragon wins...
Like pro wrestling, air shows are pure hokum. Time for our society to do away with them for the sake of public safety, as with cigarettes.
Good..I'm sorry for the pilot but this keeps happening over and over..what is the point of these anyway? It's time for these to stop..
Well Ed, I guess we need to quit making left turns, crossing streets, going to sea, etc. The point is that life continues on even after such an unfortunate accident. You just can't stop living.
Ed, to what were you saying, "Good"? Good that a jet crashed and all that nasty pollution was all over? Good that a man was killed? Good that people, most likely including children, watched him die and are traumatized? What exactly is "good" about this?
I'm sorry for the family's loss and that so many witnessed it, as TiGor said.
Ed, the point of air shows or most any other type of exhibition is people enjoying the event and sharing their interest in whatever it is that led them to attend, as well as some education. This is how areas of interest, such as aviation, antique automobiles, animals, or you-name-it is kept alive.
In the case of airshows, most of us don't get to walk around aircraft too often, but many types - especially military - we would probably never get to see up close and seldom would we get to see them in the air doing what they do best, at least low enough to be able to even know what it is we were looking at. To top it off, one or more pilots or crewmembers are usually nearby and more than willing to talk about their aircraft and to answer any questions about it.
People went there to have a good time, which for some people includes anything having to do with aircraft and/or flying. Unfortunately, they got 'this' instead, and I doubt anyone was enjoying themselves after it happened. A fatal accident like this really spoils everyone's mood. I'd say it's worse than rain on a parade or at a picnic, in most people's opinion. It isn't exactly something one shakes off by tomorrow morning, especially young children who saw this... it could haunt them for years.
Ram, I believe that Ed's "good" was a typo and he meant to say "God"
What's the 'point' of football, baseball, smellin' the flowers and loving your Mom?
Because they are all fun to do, dude. You really REALLY need to get out of the basement.
Speak up for yourself and tell us all that you really didn't mean to say "Good." If you meant it, may God have mercy on your soul!
So sad. Condolences to the pilot's family and friends.
eds an ass hole
I must agree with Ed - what is the point of this stupid activity!! They constantly have crashes that kill innocent idiots who go to watch such shows! These should be STOPPED immediately - they serve NO purpose at all!
@EM has a good point too - but can we continue on with activities that are not so dangerous and endanger others??
@Lucky Dog - Ed is not a @!$%# - he really makes since - what purpose do these shows serve? How many crashes have been seen and heard of in the last year?? How many innocent people have died as a result? They really serve NO purpose. It is an activity that can be terminated.
@AE - there is no such entity as god
youre an ass hole too segdirb ... after reading your edited post it becomes painfully obvious WHY you are an ass hole!!!
His "Good" was really something else - which is a reference to that fictitious wizard in the sky.
you are also an worthless piece of sh!t atheist !!!!
Ed,
some people die of a massive heart attack on their recliner, drinking a beer and watching a football game. I'm thinking the guy who went out in a big fireball, flying a jet aircraft at hundreds of miles an hour; probably wouldn't regret his choices in life....at least he was living it to the fullest when he was taken out. That's the point.
EM employee
You hit that nail on the head................................
Ed,
These pilots know the risks better than anyone and they continue to fly as they do because it makes them more alive and happier then perhaps you have ever known. It's none of your darn biz if they die doing what they love....sit in your fluffy chair and rot 'risk free' if you choose, some of us need to take calculated chances to live as we like. Anyway a few fatalities per yr is not a massive toll it's just that they ALWAYs make the news.
They don't "constantly" have crashes. Of course you only hear about the air shows with crashes, but there are THOUSANDS of airshows every year. And most of the time nothing goes wrong.
Its the same as any time you fly in a commercial jet or drive across the country. Sometimes accidents happen.
that's BS Seg - I like to watch old tin fly. this wasn't even really OLD tin. They weren't doing aerobatics
It was a communist jet for gods sake! They should've all been melted down long before this happened.
COMMIES DON'T BUILD NO JUNK
They had a bad government, at least at one time. That doesn't mean that every one of the products ever made there was total garbage, too. Granted, much of the commercial stuff was, but most Communist nations had military hardware that was actually quite good for what it was. I've always been a fan of Soviet Russian stuff...watches, optics, rifles, etc. They had a different way of going about things when it came to design and manufacturing, but the products, spartan though they may be, certainly did the job and usually held up quite well.
I don't own any former Soviet/ComBloc aircraft, but a startling number of people do. The stuff is simple, rugged, and as far as surplus jet fighters and similar aircraft go, it's available and relatively affordable. Remember, the US doesn't even sell any surplus aircraft to civilians anymore. They are sold to allied governments, occasionally they're loaned to certain corporations for research or testing purposes, but it's still Uncle Sam's plane and he gets it back in the end, where it's cannibalized for parts or scrapped. The Russians and a few others are at least willing to 'play ball' with anyone who has the interest and money to buy one of their old jets!
Fred, we are not savages. This is not Greek times when the victorious army would destroy the history of the losing culture. We don't just "melt away" world history anymore. Aviation history is especially valuable and interesting because it is such a young history and we have come so far.
You made me watch a stupid women's commercial for 30 seconds just to show a 17 second clip that showed 2 vague images?
I hate you, NBC
I mean really NBC...no film of the terror on the guy's face as his plane plummets to the ground, knowing he's about to die? Or the charred remains of his body? At least an interview with any relatives who may have been at the air show, possibly his wife and young son who witnessed the crash, to capture the agony they were going through at that moment? So much video you could have shown to satisfy viewers like Rick Day, who wasted 30 seconds of his life watching a stupid commercial, only to see a short clip of the crash from afar. You really dropped the ball on this one NBC...next time Rick will expect some up close and personal reporting...the more tasteless the better, right Rick?
OMGosh KC - you added a lot to little Rick's post. He did not say all those horrible things you mentioned nor did he reference such. Shame on you!
Seg, maybe I did read a bit too much into Rick's comment, but he was clearly implying that if NBC's coverage had been more entertaining than a brief clip of the aftermath, essentially a big cloud of smoke from a few miles away, then he wouldn't have considered the time "wasted". Since he saw fit to make such a mindless, irrelevant and inappropriate comment, I was simply speculating about what he expected to see that wasn't so boring. Get my drift, or was my comment too harsh?
.
Nah. I think he was just complaining about having to sit through those annoying commercials to watch a non-informative video, but that's the choice he made when he clicked on the link.
I think it's more the fact that you have to sit through advertisements before watching some really terrible (albeit short) imagery. There's like a cognitive shift that's uncomfortable.
Yeah, NBC kinda lacks that Fox Noise shameless, uninformed, arm-waving approach, don't they.
wow, no need to watch the grainy, far away video. The still photo that MSNBC originally posted for this story shows everything you need to know and I cant believe they posted it. The fiery object arcing away from the fireball is the ejection seat and pilot, completely engulfed in flames. classy, Im sure this poor pilot's family appreciates the callousness. BTW, pilots know the inherent risk of flying and performing maneuvers close to the ground with little room for error. All pilots are passionate about flying and know that every takeoff may be their last.
I just googled how many air show crashes.....
Let's see 9 so far for 2012, 13 for 2011 and more and more for each year they list.
It is very usual and a lot of people attend these things for the thrill and the possibility of seeing a crash, it's
the same with the NASCAR races. I don't want to see accidents, so I don't attend. Fools that take big
risks often get hurt. It's hard enough to stay safe during normal living events without asking for the extra
risk.
I agree with you Inestwo!!! These events are way too dangerous and those that put themselves in harms way must have something wrong. I am glad that others were not killed as in the last airshow crash. I am still trying to figure out what purpose this serves. Also - I am still in query about drag races or NASCAR - what thrill is there of going around in a circle at 200 plus miles an hour for 300 rounds??? Sounds absolutely silly!
For those who think these events should be stopped because of these types of crashes, lets start by taking away your cars. There are hundreds of fatal accidents on US roads daily, thousands per year. Obviously that should immediately be stopped. There are actually very few fatalities at air shows, however they are very public, and high profile. If the homicide rate in any major city were made as big a deal of, we would immediately evacuate every city. These pilots that fly at air shows for the public are not first timers, these guys have thousands upon thousands of hours of safe flight time to their names.
Also, part of the reason for these shows is to develop other people's interest in flight. How many of today's military pilots flying to protect our sorry hind ends are up there because they once watched the Blue Angels roar overhead. Anyone who has watched the Blues or the Thunderbirds and still says "why do they do this" has some issues. I love watching the reaction of the people around me at the show when they perform the sneak pass at nearly 700mph directly overhead. Just awesome
Inestwo and Segdirb must be liberal wussys !
Doubtful mwsracerx. I doubt their political affiliation has anything to do with the fact that they spend their time hiding inside away from the dangerous scary world.
Maybe you two should try watching an airshow sometime. From afar if that makes you more comfortable. Because they are simply stunning.
I love airshows and hope they continue. But the last few years have seen way too many accidents. Seems like we read similar stories every few weeks. Can't they be made safer and still be fun to watch?
How?
Sure, by removing the stunts and cool formations... and by not flying the planes... you can just look at them on the ground. How fun :-)
Like a car show - up-close and safe for the audience...
But unlike a car race.
I am sorry for the pilot and his family,and I am also sad that we lost a piece of history,the historic aircraft are a beautiful thing even though they were built for one purpose.look at the ME-109 (sp?) beautiful and deadly
Bet he won't do that again,eh.
Your a jerk!!!!
@RobertyLevy - LMAO! You are so bad! But I did laugh - it was really funny! Caught me off guard - and I choked on me water!
Good one!
Big Tes, As long as there is gravity , I doubt it.
It seems there was more fuel than needed on board, for it to have created such a huge fireball.
NO CLUE ..... ehhh bob ????
Lol please tell me you're actually qualified to make that statement
Not more than was necessary - but enough to fly an hour or so probably. that jet is thirsty. max fuel 2160 lbs or about 700 gallons (more or less - not exact conversion, but close enough for this "discussion") About 90 minutes of fuel (but I seriously doubt they would run down to bingo fuel, so maybe 1 hour.)
The L-29 Delfin and L-39 Albatross's both have atrocious safety records. Maybe it is their affordability that allows regular guys to purchase them. Maybe it is because they were designed by communists, built by communists with communist aluminum, flown by communist, maintained by communists, abandoned by communists and then sold by communists cheaply to yahoos who wanted to be fighter pilots, but had glasses and were turned away. I've been tempted to buy one myself. Best to steer clear. Godspeed to this unfortunate pilot. I'll pray for his family.
communist aluminium is the same as any OTHER aluminium. just slightly different specs. The problems have typically been with the engine.
It's known as engineering, not communism, Billy...
1. That's a HUGE fireball for that little jet.
2. This jet should be grounded worldwide. So far in 2012, this is the FIFTH fatal accident for this Czech-built piece of junk.
wow the FIFTH? I'll bet there have been more crashes this year for the type of car you drive...
Good Republican-style analogy, Mandy - clueless.
And your Democrat way of thinking that the Gov't should step in and "protect" us by taking away liberties is better? This man knew the risks, he chose to fly the plane... and he deserved that choice.
Mandy - If there were fatal accidents specific to and caused the type of car I drive, you can bet I would want to know about it. Just ask Toyota how that goes, or Ford (Pinto), or Corvair (rollovers)... and countless others.
If there were 5 fatal accidents on 737s this year, I would expect the FAA to ground them all. And consider that there are thousands of people driving the type of car I drive, versus the perhaps dozen or so flying that silly L-39, and the accident rate is alarming. So yes, the FIFTH (in all caps).
And thank you to both of you for taking my comment political.
pssst toredown, I'm a democrat. I just like aviation, a good portion of my family are piliots and I'm saving my money for a sport and then private pilot's license.
How about ANY SUV? Anyone who lives in a snowy climate knows this: When the roads are icy, and everyone spins off, the majority of cars are right side up, and the majority of SUVs upside down.
We live across the river and our family enjoys the air show each year. We don't always attend the events on the grounds but always find a nice spot to see the Blue Angels or Thunder Birds. The air show was changed to a later date this year - the first held in September - and has been held at the Mt. Joy airport for many years. It is not the major airport in the Quad-Cities, that being the Quad City Airport in Moline, IL just outside the immediate city limits. You can also see the Blue Angels and/or Thunder Birds "parked" at the Moline airport - sometimes members of the flight crew will come over to the gates and talk, answer questions and hand out literature - very nice experience.
This crash is the second I can remember here at our local air show - the other was some time ago when one of those vertical take off planes crashed when the pilot left the morning after the two day show. He was very good to show and explain everything about his plane - unfortunately, that was his last show. We felt very bad knowing that we had talked with this nice young guy never knowing what was to happen.
My sincere condolences to his family, friends and fellow fliers.
Sure glad the plane didn't hit the Nuclear Power Plant near Quad City.
I just refuse to attend these anymore. So many tragedies -RIP.
Do you also refuse to leave your house or drive your car?
Uh-oh - more dumb analogies. You must have a bag full, eh, Mandy?
The point that Mandy is missing is that, in proportion to the millions of vehicles on the road every day (travelling untold miles), there seem to be a didproportionate # of air show crashes, relative to THEIR number of miles flown etc.
I don't think you guys realize how many air shows there are a year, and how many planes are flown at them. The number of crashes, is also extremely low. You only hear about the crashes.
And toredown, my point is that LIFE is dangerous. If you never did anything that someone has died from, well you pretty much wouldn't DO anything. People die all the time from electricity, do we stop using it? People die in car wrecks, do we stop using cars? People die from vending machines falling on them, do we stop using vending machines?
So can this jet be fixed and flown again or what,nothing at all has been mentioned about that.
lol, the fireball says no
gather up the pieces, and after the investigation, send them off to the scrapper for recycling into beer cans...
It sustained a few scratches, but nothing that can't be buffed out...
from this day forth I shall never trust anything with "Made in Czech" on it. especially if it's from the 60s.
I was in the Navy back in the '90's and was an electrician in a an A-6 squadron. I still to this day have nightmares of aircraft crashes every so often. This is a nightmare of mine come to life.
Terrifying is an understatement ......
I don't see the point of air shows anyway. Let's go stand/sit out in the heat and subject ourselves to loud noise and watch jets fly around in circles wasting fuel while we continue to pay record high prices for gas. Sounds like fun and good common sense to me. Not to mention that these air show accidents keep happening again and again putting many lives at risk, those in the shows and the fools gathered watching.
Then it's really lucky that no one is forcing you to go. There are probably 10,000 times more people killed by drunk drivers than air shows. A lot of people like racing of various sorts (drag races, horse races, F1, humans, boats, etc.) so just deal with it you curmudgeon. You probably complained about your mother's milk.
I hate to tell you but airshows make tons of money for the cities where they are held. When the pilots and their crews come to town they all need places to stay and cars and food plus the fuel for the aircraft they are using. I see airshows as very entertaining and have been to about 30 in my life and loved every minute of. So before you judge that all airshows show be shut down think about the monetary loss to those areas.
When I was a little boy my parents took us to the airport to see this "supersonic Russian Concorde type aircraft," Dad pointed out an exposed hydraulic hose that was leaking and was wrapped with tape." I have seen great chinese and dormer Eastern Block stuff.......but that plane I remember.
LTC Rattus, USA, ret.
of course, the mole inside Aerospatiale was discovered and FIRED before the found the DESIGN flaw on the Concorde. It's why the Tu-144 crashed at the airshow - fuselage broke during a pull-up.
Speaking of "interesting tales" - there was a Chinese 747 that was grounded in Europe when they discovered that several of the fan blades were METAL BANDED together (steel banding straps - like for shipping "stuff"). Don't remember which airport, but they made them install 2 reman engines before they would let it FLY OUT
I want to know who thought it was important to fly a WWII Czech plane in an American Air show in the first place?
My sympathies to the pilot and his family, but really, what was the rationale?
Didn't know the Czechs flew jets in WWII!
Robert, have you ever BEEN to an airshow?
Usually there are planes and pilots from all around the world (depending on the size of the airshow). Just because this is America doesn't mean we need to completely ignore the rest of the worlds accomplishments and talent.
I see this headline with the location varying too often. I am another who can't see the lure of an air show. I took our sons to one once and it was a waste of time, gas and money. Knowing how dangerous it seems to be now, I'd never do that again. The risk is not worth it because not only are the pilots in danger, but the people on the ground are as well. The shows are usually not long and one has to worry about parking and entry fees and waiting around before the show and being stuck in traffic afterward. I can think of a million better ways to spend time that do not involve putting people at such grave risk.
While there are car accidents every day around the world, they are usually while in pursuit of travel of one sort or another. Someone is going to work, the grocery store, going home, etc... Most people don't joy ride. I also fail to see the lure of Nascar and think it is bad for the environment and is sick in that people are hoping to see a massive crash. Otherwise, why would they watch a bunch of loud cars drive in circles for hours? Might as well stay home and watch the grass grow! I cannot imagine how people willingly travel distances to watch car racing and pay for entry to the event. Watching at home on tv is almost as bad....
How was it a waste of time, gas, and money?
well as much I enjoy watching things "fly", it IS a waste of fuel. Other than the sound and display, there is nothing that couldn't be found in a MUSEUM.
I agree with the premise that most people go to NASCAR to watch CRASHES (when they happen)
Yep, quite the waste - guess we'll need more 'drill, baby, drill' to make up for all these crashes...
now I wasn't saying that I don't LIKE watching airshows (even better being a PART of one) but other than crowd pleasing, it's a general waste of fuel. Even worse - it's getting more and more difficult to even FIND 115/145 purple gas for the piston birds
So is NASCAR, hell, so is driving down the road to get icecream
There is always a risk in everything we do. That is a fact of life.
Fer shure! I risk reading stupid comments from unedumicated and woefully-uninformed TeaNuts and bible thumpers every day, but for some reason, I just keep on coming back...
You must not have much of a life, Toredown, to have time to respond to and spew loony left talking points to EVERY comment. Typical lib with too much time on their hands.
Toredown, I love how anyone who disagrees with your life philosophy is a "TeaNut"
For the record, I am a liberal. I like hiking, and gymnastics, and flying, and racing cars, and jumping out of airplanes. You know why? BECAUSE LIFE IS FUN!!!