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Posted on 5/18/26 at 7:54 am to MikkUGA
quote:
How did they end up vertical, belly to belly like that? Then ejecting like that.
I watched it about 10 times and I don't think they're belly to belly. I think the one that caused the crash ( the one that came in at a higher elevation) is piggy backed on the lower one but slightly skewed so that the cockpit of the bottom plane was clear for those pilots to eject too.
I think the tail fins of the bottom plane speared up into the under carriage of the higher elevation plane causing them to be stuck and fall together. If that top plane had been perfectly superpositioned over the lower plane you'd have 2 dead pilots because one crew wouldn't be able to eject. Luckily both cockpits weren't stacked perfectly on top of each other.
This post was edited on 5/18/26 at 9:14 am
Posted on 5/18/26 at 8:10 am to MikkUGA
quote:
How did they end up vertical, belly to belly like that?
Physics… probably.
It certainly looked like they had to pause before ejecting.
Posted on 5/18/26 at 8:13 am to Tigergreg
There is a Canadian team that performs at air shows using F18s.
ETA: Was. Internet says they stopped performing outside of Canada since 2024.
ETA: Was. Internet says they stopped performing outside of Canada since 2024.
This post was edited on 5/18/26 at 8:22 am
Posted on 5/18/26 at 9:01 am to FreedomBarefoot
Has any official word, other than that they are alive, come out on the condition of the pilots?
I seem to remember being told that ejecting from a fighter jet is a harsh endeavor. Spine and neck injuries are common due to the forces involved.
I seem to remember being told that ejecting from a fighter jet is a harsh endeavor. Spine and neck injuries are common due to the forces involved.
Posted on 5/18/26 at 9:05 am to SuperFanDan
quote:
I watched it about 10 times and I don't think they're belly to belly.
They arent. In fact, the top plane came close to blocking the ejection space of the lower aircraft.
Posted on 5/18/26 at 9:05 am to FreedomBarefoot
I first saw this video on IG. I thought it was a flight sim game they way the planes stuck together and made the abrupt pitch up. It looks so unnatural and looks like a video game physics engine trying to figure out what to do.
Posted on 5/18/26 at 11:43 am to deuceiswild
quote:
Has any official word, other than that they are alive, come out on the condition of the pilots?
Not that I've seen.
The show has been canceled for 8 years.a disabled hang glider pilot died in that accident .
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2026/05/18/crew-members-safely-ejected-after-navy-jets-collide-at-idaho-air-show/
quote:
The air show’s official site lists the U.S. Navy’s E/A-18G “Vikings” Growler Demo Team as one of the scheduled performers. The jets involved in the collision were assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 from Whidbey Island, Washington, Umayam said.
Sunday marked the first Gunfighter Skies Air Show in eight years. A hang glider pilot died in a crash during the last show in 2018
LINK
quote:
Dan Buchanan, a wheelchair-bound air show hang glider pilot, died at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho on Saturday when something went wrong during his performance, according to local news sources.
UPI and KIVI-TV reported witnesses seeing Buchanan’s hang glider diving toward the ground while releasing a cable after completing a maneuver with another aircraft.
The 366th Fighter Wing tweeted that Buchanan was airlifted to a local hospital after the crash, where he later died due to his injuries.
The 366th Fighter Wing, which is based at Mountain Home Air Force Base, later followed up about the accident. “The air show will continue tomorrow in honor of our dear friend Dan Buchanan, and all the support he has provided for our air shows. There will be a tribute to Dan and an opportunity to memorialize him at the show,” the statement said..
According to his website, Buchanan was in the process of earning his Private Pilot license when he injured himself in a hang gliding accident in 1981, causing him to lose his ability to walk. He returned to flying nonetheless, and earned his private and commercial licenses. He accumulated more than 3,000 hours in hang gliders and sailplanes. He became a regular air show performer, and was licensed as a pyrotechnician, which allowed him to organize the special effects for his performances. Additionally, Buchanan partook in ATV racing, flat-water river kayaking and scuba diving.
Buchanan’s career spanned 36 years, according to the 366th.
Posted on 5/18/26 at 11:45 am to FreedomBarefoot
DEI?
Posted on 5/18/26 at 12:07 pm to FreedomBarefoot
You guys have to check out the pyrotechnics strapped to this guys hang glider.
Collection of onboard video from Dan's perspective performing at airshows day and night time
Collection of onboard video from Dan's perspective performing at airshows day and night time
Posted on 5/18/26 at 12:14 pm to Tigergreg
quote:
It's the Air Force Thunderbirds.
How are you the way that you are?
Posted on 5/18/26 at 3:25 pm to FreedomBarefoot
In 2003 a pilot ejected and crashed a Thunderbird at that air show.
Pilot Capt. Chris Stricklin miscalculated the altitude needed to perform a "Split-S" maneuver, ejecting successfully just eight-tenths of a second before impact.
Pilot Capt. Chris Stricklin miscalculated the altitude needed to perform a "Split-S" maneuver, ejecting successfully just eight-tenths of a second before impact.
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