F18 crashes in VA Beach, media clueless

You can find the story on every news channel......with endless verbal diarhea. The only factual thing I've heard so far is that the jet crashed into an apt building near Bird Neck Rd. That is true. The pilots (2) both ejected and are hospitalized with non life threatening injuries. The crash was between Oceana Naval Air Station and the beach. That is true. It appears the pilots were trying to get to the water. Assumption, but likely.

On CNN alone they have "witness statements" that they are running on the ticker as fact. One says "witness says pilots have been getting much more daring lately". Someone tell me what that means please? Sublte blaming of the pilots and on and on.

They were practicing touch and go's......not true. A touch and go is practicing landing the jet on an aircraft carrier, if the line does not look like it will stop the jet, the jet needs to "touch down" on the carrier and be able to go right back up. Touch and go's are never practiced, and couldn't be, in residential areas.

it seems CNN finally got a real expert that crushed most of the bullshit, but it was 2 hours of crap before that.

24 hour news is a menace.

Eh - they have 24 hours of airtime to fill, Jenn so they'll take a story and overdo it.

Where`s Capt. Janks?

I have notice an increase in activity at Nellis over the past month or so. I have even heard bombs explode alot lately which is rare. (sound like thunder in the distance as the bombing range is far away)
They shouldn't say pilots are getting daring. That is what they do. They sharpen their skills. They are the best.

They are practicing for the war on Iran?

All true except touch and gos can be done on any runway, and often are. Air Force 1 (or whatever it's called when the POTUS isn't on board) often practices at a smallish airport basically in my back yard.

Not unless they are training Israeli pilots there.

I don't know, but even last night around 11:30 I could see the flashes from over a mountain. They were practicing night bombing?

Good thing they put that cone out.

They do all the time. Same with the Saudi's Brits, UAE, ect

http://www.nellis.af.mil/library/flyingoperations.asp

Red Flag

Better call MAACO.

Glad you're OK, I thought of you as soon as I heard the story.

Ditto. Glad you're okay Jenn. I too thought about you as soon as I heard about it.

How far away from you was that?

Can you imagine your just sitting there brushing your teeth, getting ready in the morning minding your own business and you hear a plane outside. You don't really think about it because we hear planes all the time and just drown them out. But an F18 is pretty loud so you would hear it coming about a minute before it got there. So then you rinse and spit out the toothpaste as it gets closer and louder. Maybe you've started to notice that its seems to have been flying by for a while now but still hasn't passed you or maybe you haven't. 30 seconds later it really fucking loud and just as your heading to look out a window the fucker shows up on your doorstep.

I see OJ... and he lookin' mad...

true....all military airports have many aircraft that perform touch and go's regularly....many other airports do the same

CNN is scrambling for an angle to blame the crash on Bush.

They should do their training in the middle of nowhere. It's a fucking menace. I've lived in several big cities and the god damn air shows happen once or twice a year and these dudes do these ridiculous flybys right by the buildings, making my fucking windows rattle and causing sonic booms all day. It's absurd and reckless.

Glad to hear you are OK Jenn. I used to live under the flight path for a Naval Air Station and they would practice all day. It really got worse during Desert Storm when all sorts of planes were departing here for the war zone.

Fox news has already blamed it on Obama and the right wingers already agree....

I can't speak about the coverage because I haven't watched any of it. But I can say that my father in July retired from the Delaware Air National Guard, Air Force Reserves. The base he worked at is in the middle of New Castle, DE which is a suburban, residential area. The aircraft at the base are a wing of C-31 Hercules. And they practice what I have always been told is a "touch and go" all the time. They come in for landing, let their wheels touch and then pull up and regain altitude then fly in big circle around the base to line back up and go again. Maybe what you are describing on an aircraft carrier is also referred to as a "touch and go", it seems like it would be a common thing to practice as a military pilot in which ever situation would be common for them to fly in.

i think you meant c-130....but yeah, they're very popular military aircraft and do tons of touch and go's daily (i'd bet as many as any other aircraft flying today) despite not even being an aircraft that is carrier able

the reason i know any of this is because i spent 4 years on two aircraft carriers and for the last 20+ years have worked at 3 different airports, 1 military and two major international ones

Me too, I'm glad Jenn, friends and family are all okay. And yes, the skies are a lot calmer since Willow Grove closed. Not to mention too frequent crashes during the air shows.

I was at one show back in the 80s where a child initiated the emergency ejection seat on a Viking anti sub jet. he had to do 3 or 4 things in perfect order to eject and unfortunately hi did and died as a result of it.

A few years ago the Willow Grove Show was on local TV (29) and there was a f-14 pilot who had flown a demonstration previously , talking on air with the hosts. The next day the same pilot lost power and crashed in a back yard across the street form the field. So young and so sad.