Aircraft pics

[427TJ]

Got this from a pilot buddy. Caption said that this happened at an airshow in KS in 1990. The pilot misjudged his altitude as he came down the back side of a loop and saw that ground impact was imminent. Looks like he dropped the wing flaps as he pulled hard on the stick to avoid ground impact and almost certain death. Tail supposedly dug a 12-inch furrow on the field. Aircraft is a surplus Russian/Soviet MiG-17, one of two MiG types that gave American pilots fits over Vietnam, the other being the MiG-21. (The earlier, non-afterburning MiG-15 fought in Korea in 1950-53.)

[47Hammer]

Wow! The pucker factor must have been at an all time high there, "10" pushing cloth!

[427TJ]

Yes Bart, that is a perfect example of a VERY HIGH pucker factor. Realize too that in the photo the jet is traveling parallel to the ground. The pilot has pulled hard aft on the stick and the jet's angle of attack (angle of the wing to the line of movement, parallel to the airfield surface in this shot) is very high. If he had anything in his bowels and bladder it undoubtedly made a hurried exit into his flight suit during this maneuver/recovery. He is what pilots call a "lucky bastard."

[ANDY M]

Roger that!

[m22mike]

F22 Raptor Video

http://www.f22-raptor.com/media/vide...ow_Langley.wmv

[Xplantdad]

I think the same type of event happened at El Toro a bunch of years back during the air show that they had annually... the pilot plowed into the ground after a low altitude loop...but wansn't killed?

[427TJ]

Yes, that same thing happened. It was an F-18 Hornet and the pilot attempted a low-altitude loop and ran out of room. He too pulled very hard on the stick but got the jet into a "high alpha" condition (nose very high in relation to the direction of movement) and the jet slammed into the runway. It hit hard and spun (360s) and came to a stop without exploding. The pilot was injured (back injuries from compression) and was in the hospital for awhile but survived. There might be video on YouTube. It happened at MCAS El Toro.

[Xplantdad]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, that same thing happened. It was an F-18 Hornet and the pilot attempted a low-altitude loop and ran out of room. He too pulled very hard on the stick but got the jet into a "high alpha" condition (nose very high in relation to the direction of movement) and the jet slammed into the runway. It hit hard and spun (360s) and came to a stop without exploding. The pilot was injured (back injuries from compression) and was in the hospital for awhile but survived. There might be video on YouTube. It happened at MCAS El Toro.

[/ QUOTE ]

That be the one. We were there that Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If I remember right the accident occured during the Sunday show...

[mockingbird812]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, that same thing happened. It was an F-18 Hornet and the pilot attempted a low-altitude loop and ran out of room. He too pulled very hard on the stick but got the jet into a "high alpha" condition (nose very high in relation to the direction of movement) and the jet slammed into the runway. It hit hard and spun (360s) and came to a stop without exploding. The pilot was injured (back injuries from compression) and was in the hospital for awhile but survived. There might be video on YouTube. It happened at MCAS El Toro.

[/ QUOTE ]

That be the one. We were there that Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If I remember right the accident occured during the Sunday show...

[/ QUOTE ]

Bird Colonel at the controls. Event was considered flat-hatting and he got in a heap of trouble over it. Miraculous that he survived. Sustained very serious injuries though . Saw the video in Aviation Safety School as a case study way back when.