United States Air Force Thunderbirds - Accidents

Accidents

The Thunderbirds have performed at over 4,000 airshows worldwide, accumulating millions of miles in hundreds of different airframes over the course of their 54+ years of service. Flying high performance fighter jets is inherently dangerous; when flying in extremely close formation the danger is compounded. The team has suffered three fatal crashes during air shows, two of them in jets:

The first was the death of Major Joe Howard flying Thunderbird 3 on June 4, 1972 at Dulles Airport, during Transpo 72. His Phantom (F-4E s/n 66-0321) experienced a structural failure of the horizontal stabilizer. Maj Howard ejected as the aircraft fell back to earth from about 1,500 feet tail first and descended under a good canopy, but was too close to the explosion fireball and did not survive.

The second death occurred May 9, 1981 at Hill AFB, Utah, when Captain David "Nick" Hauck flying Thunderbird 6 crashed while performing the hi-lo Maneuver, killing pilot Captain David "Nick" Hauck. Capt. Hauk, in Thunderbird 6, crashed while attempting to land his ailing T-38 after an engine malfunctioned and caught fire. With black smoke billowing from the exhaust and the aircraft losing altitude in a high nose-up attitude, the safety officer on the ground radioed Capt Hauck: "You’re on fire, punch out", to which he responded: “Hang on... we have a bunch of people down there”. The aircraft continued to fight to stay airborne for about ½ a mile before hitting a large oak tree and a barn, then sliding across a field and flipping as it traversed an irrigation canal ultimately erupting into a fireball just a few hundred feet from the runway's end. No one on the ground was injured even though the accident occurred adjacent to a roadway packed with onlookers.