Military Accidents Los Angeles County

Air Force officials are considering whether to take action against a pilot blamed for an Oct. 22 collision in which the wing of his plane punched the two-man crew of another jet out of their cockpit seats thousands of feet above the desert, without parachutes, killing them. An investigative report released last week on the Internet graphically describes the deaths of a U.S. Air Force flight instructor, Lt. Col. William R. Nusz of Rosamond, and a visiting British Royal Air Force flier, Flight Lt.

A midair collision between two military jets that killed two airmen at Edwards Air Force Base last fall was blamed Thursday on an attempt by one pilot to avoid flying into birds. The collision occurred Oct. 22 when an F-16 fighter collided with a T-38 training jet. Two crew members in the T-38, a U.S. Air Force pilot and a visiting British Royal Air Force flier, died after trying to bail out. A statement Thursday by the headquarters of the U.S.

Sandra Tucker Bliss wiped tears from her eyes at a memorial service Wednesday as she read aloud a letter from the father she barely knew. Army Air Force 2nd Lt. Loncie L. Tucker Sr. wrote of his deep devotion to his wife, Rae Haynes Tucker, and 5-year-old daughter, Sandra, in a letter dated October / November 1942. "May your heart always be happy in knowing that my babies will always be my inspiration," Tucker wrote while serving at Eagles Field in Dos Palos, near Fresno.

Sandra Tucker Bliss wiped tears from her eyes at a memorial service Wednesday as she read aloud a letter from the father she barely knew. Army Air Force 2nd Lt. Loncie L. Tucker Sr. wrote of his deep devotion to his wife, Rae Haynes Tucker, and 5-year-old daughter, Sandra, in a letter dated October / November 1942. "May your heart always be happy in knowing that my babies will always be my inspiration," Tucker wrote while serving at Eagles Field in Dos Palos, near Fresno.

An X-31 experimental jet spun out of control and crashed in the desert north of Edwards Air Force Base on a test flight earlier this year because ice had built up on an unheated air speed measuring device, an investigatory committee has concluded. The pilot, who parachuted, survived with serious injuries. An ad hoc committee of U.S. and German military officials, in findings released Tuesday, said that the ice caused the device to give incorrect data to the computers that help fly the plane.

An unmanned reconnaissance aircraft being developed for the U.S. military crashed Monday morning in the Mojave Desert during a routine test flight, a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman said. No one was hurt in the accident, which destroyed the Global Hawk aircraft at 10:14 a.m. on the grounds of the China Lake Naval Air Station, 120 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, said the spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Vicki Stein. "The aircraft had been flying about 20 minutes before it crashed," Stein said.

Air Force officials are considering taking action against a pilot blamed in an Oct. 22 collision in which the wing of his plane knocked the two-man crew of another jet out of the cockpit in midair. The investigative report on the incident, released last week, describes in dramatic detail the deaths of a U.S. Air Force flight instructor, Lt. Col. William R. Nusz of Rosamond, and a visiting British Royal Air Force flier, Flight Lt. Leigh Alexander Fox.

An Air Force training jet crashed into the Mojave Desert here Tuesday morning, but the two men on board parachuted to safety, base officials said. U.S. Air Force Capt. Roderick L. Cregier, the commander of the aircraft, and a Swedish Air Force pilot were picked up by a helicopter, taken to a base hospital, examined and released. "Both are in good condition," said Edwards spokeswoman Dottie Spiegelberg.

An unmanned reconnaissance aircraft being developed for the U.S. military crashed Monday morning in the Mojave Desert during a routine test flight, a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman said. No one was hurt in the accident, which destroyed the Global Hawk aircraft at 10:14 a.m. on the grounds of the China Lake Naval Air Station, 120 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, said the spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Vicki Stein. "The aircraft had been flying about 20 minutes before it crashed," Stein said.

Air Force officials are considering taking action against a pilot blamed in an Oct. 22 collision in which the wing of his plane knocked the two-man crew of another jet out of the cockpit in midair. The investigative report on the incident, released last week, describes in dramatic detail the deaths of a U.S. Air Force flight instructor, Lt. Col. William R. Nusz of Rosamond, and a visiting British Royal Air Force flier, Flight Lt. Leigh Alexander Fox.

Air Force officials are considering whether to take action against a pilot blamed for an Oct. 22 collision in which the wing of his plane punched the two-man crew of another jet out of their cockpit seats thousands of feet above the desert, without parachutes, killing them. An investigative report released last week on the Internet graphically describes the deaths of a U.S. Air Force flight instructor, Lt. Col. William R. Nusz of Rosamond, and a visiting British Royal Air Force flier, Flight Lt.

A midair collision between two military jets that killed two airmen at Edwards Air Force Base last fall was blamed Thursday on an attempt by one pilot to avoid flying into birds. The collision occurred Oct. 22 when an F-16 fighter collided with a T-38 training jet. Two crew members in the T-38, a U.S. Air Force pilot and a visiting British Royal Air Force flier, died after trying to bail out. A statement Thursday by the headquarters of the U.S.

An X-31 experimental jet spun out of control and crashed in the desert north of Edwards Air Force Base on a test flight earlier this year because ice had built up on an unheated air speed measuring device, an investigatory committee has concluded. The pilot, who parachuted, survived with serious injuries. An ad hoc committee of U.S. and German military officials, in findings released Tuesday, said that the ice caused the device to give incorrect data to the computers that help fly the plane.

An Air Force parachutist whose leg was severed in a sky-diving accident 6,500 above the ground remained hospitalized Monday, as military authorities launched an accident investigation. Sgt. Sanya Brockinton, 28, of Highlands, Tex., "struck the aircraft" as he leaped out of a twin-propeller C-23 Sherpa cargo plane Friday afternoon on a training jump, military authorities said in a prepared statement on Monday. His right leg, the statement said, was severed below the knee.

An Air Force parachutist whose leg was severed in a sky-diving accident 6,500 above the ground remained hospitalized Monday, as military authorities launched an accident investigation. Sgt. Sanya Brockinton, 28, of Highlands, Tex., "struck the aircraft" as he leaped out of a twin-propeller C-23 Sherpa cargo plane Friday afternoon on a training jump, military authorities said in a prepared statement on Monday. His right leg, the statement said, was severed below the knee.

An Air Force training jet crashed into the Mojave Desert here Tuesday morning, but the two men on board parachuted to safety, base officials said. U.S. Air Force Capt. Roderick L. Cregier, the commander of the aircraft, and a Swedish Air Force pilot were picked up by a helicopter, taken to a base hospital, examined and released. "Both are in good condition," said Edwards spokeswoman Dottie Spiegelberg.