This Is Bad
Wed Jan 11, 2006 9:28 am
Published - January, 11, 2006
Search on for aircraft
Four were on board plane bound for NAS
Sean Smith
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
A search was to continue today for four aviators and their Navy T-39 Sabreliner after they failed to return to Pensacola Naval Air Station at the scheduled time Tuesday afternoon, Navy officials said.
The Sabreliner is attached to Training Squadron 86 and had a crew of four, including a civilian contract pilot, a Navy instructor, a Navy student and an Air Force student, said Lt., j.g. Sean Robertson, Navy South Region public affairs officer.
The T-39 took off from Chattanooga, Tenn., about 11 a.m. and was scheduled to fly a navigation training mission, arriving at Pensacola Naval Air Station about 3 p.m., Robertson said. The last radio contact occurred at 11:20 a.m. when the pilot contacted the national center.
"All we know is the aircraft made contact, and we haven't heard anything since," Robertson said.
The Navy is withholding identities of the air crew under Department of Defense policy.
Navy officials would not disclose where the search was being conducted late Tuesday or if the aircraft carried distress or locator beacons. Robertson also would not disclose what route the T-39 took.
The Coast Guard station in Mobile, which would conduct searches if an aircraft were reported missing over the Gulf, was not asked to search on Tuesday, said Steve Lewallen, a civilian who works at the Coast Guard operations in Mobile.
Seven aviators died in May 2002 when two T-39 Sabreliners collided in mid-air about 40 miles south of Pensacola Beach.
The T-39 Sabreliner is basically a Lear-type jet equipped with a fighter's radar for training.
About 30 contract pilots, dubbed "Gray Eagles," take Navy, Marine and Air Force students on flights to train them as flight officers, weapons system officers and navigators.
All the Gray Eagles are retired fighter pilots with combat experience. They can pass along combat experience without tying up front-line aviators.
Say a prayer for our fellow aviators & those affected by this. Lets hope for a miracle.
Robbie
Search on for aircraft
Four were on board plane bound for NAS
Sean Smith
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
A search was to continue today for four aviators and their Navy T-39 Sabreliner after they failed to return to Pensacola Naval Air Station at the scheduled time Tuesday afternoon, Navy officials said.
The Sabreliner is attached to Training Squadron 86 and had a crew of four, including a civilian contract pilot, a Navy instructor, a Navy student and an Air Force student, said Lt., j.g. Sean Robertson, Navy South Region public affairs officer.
The T-39 took off from Chattanooga, Tenn., about 11 a.m. and was scheduled to fly a navigation training mission, arriving at Pensacola Naval Air Station about 3 p.m., Robertson said. The last radio contact occurred at 11:20 a.m. when the pilot contacted the national center.
"All we know is the aircraft made contact, and we haven't heard anything since," Robertson said.
The Navy is withholding identities of the air crew under Department of Defense policy.
Navy officials would not disclose where the search was being conducted late Tuesday or if the aircraft carried distress or locator beacons. Robertson also would not disclose what route the T-39 took.
The Coast Guard station in Mobile, which would conduct searches if an aircraft were reported missing over the Gulf, was not asked to search on Tuesday, said Steve Lewallen, a civilian who works at the Coast Guard operations in Mobile.
Seven aviators died in May 2002 when two T-39 Sabreliners collided in mid-air about 40 miles south of Pensacola Beach.
The T-39 Sabreliner is basically a Lear-type jet equipped with a fighter's radar for training.
About 30 contract pilots, dubbed "Gray Eagles," take Navy, Marine and Air Force students on flights to train them as flight officers, weapons system officers and navigators.
All the Gray Eagles are retired fighter pilots with combat experience. They can pass along combat experience without tying up front-line aviators.
Say a prayer for our fellow aviators & those affected by this. Lets hope for a miracle.
Robbie
Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:41 am
Read this morning that the wreckage was found in Georgia.
Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:32 am
Very Sad 
No survivors in wreckage of jet found in Walker County
01/11/06
Email this story to a friend
From AP, staff reports
LaFAYETTE — The crash site of a missing Navy jet with four aviators aboard was found late Wednesday, more than 24 hours after it failed to make its scheduled landing at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida following a low-level bomb training mission, the Civil Air Patrol said.
All four crewmen were killed, said Dallas Battle, a detective with the Floyd County Police Department. Battle and three Georgia State Patrol troopers came upon the wreckage after it was spotted by a GSP helicopter.
Floyd County Sheriff Tim Burkhalter said the wreckage was found in southern Walker County between Lake Marvin and Villanow. Burkhalter said he could not confirm if the wreckage is that of a missing Navy jet, but moments later Joyner confirmed that it was the missing plane.
The search for a Navy jet and the four aviators on board covered a swath of Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama on Wednesday. Capt. Lee Little, a pilot in charge of Training Wing 6 based at Pensacola, said the search area stretched from Chattanooga to Montgomery over rugged terrain. It was scaled back substantially for the night.
The Navy T-39 Sabreliner took off from Chattanooga and was scheduled to arrive in Pensacola around 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Navy Lt. j.g. Sean Robertson, a public affairs officer. A Navy instructor, a Navy student, an Air Force student and a civilian contract pilot were on board, Robertson said. Their identities have not been released.
Authorities were responding to reported sightings of a plane in distress in an area from Walker County, just south of Chattanooga, Tenn., to Mineral Bluff, Ga., just south of the western tip of North Carolina. ``Since our first report from the Air Force, we have received calls from as far away as ... Mineral Bluff from residents claiming they saw a plane that appeared to be in trouble. And they believed it was a military aircraft,'' said Capt. Mike Mabrey of the Gilmer County, Ga., Sheriff's Department.
The aircraft was assigned to Training Squadron 86. It took off for a navigation training mission around 11 a.m. from Chattanooga. The last radio contact came at 11:20 a.m., Robertson said. ``All we know is the aircraft made contact, and we haven't heard anything since,'' he said. Little said the trainer jet was equipped with an emergency location transmitter, but the device was not transmitting. Officials did not know why. She said the plane would have been flying at between 500 and 1,000 feet.
``They are practicing running at a low level to a target and dropping the bombs,'' Little said. ``We don't carry bombs on these aircraft, but they are simulating what they would be doing in a tactical aircrat. She said there was no distress call before the plane disappeared. ``The mood on the base is difficult today. But we all understand the hazards of flying,'' she said. The Civil Air Patrol had aircraft over the search area, while sheriff's deputies and other emergency responders scoured the heavily wooded countrysides of north Georgia. Early search efforts were hampered by the rugged terrain and rainy weather.
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said he had set up a command post in southern part of his county, directly south of Chattanooga, after a woman reported hearing a plane in distress and a farmer working in his field who said he heard what sounded like a crash. ``Two different people told us they had spotted what they thought was this plane flying low, I think somewhere about 12:30'' Tuesday afternoon, Wilson said. Searchers on the ground initially looked in an area that includes Carters Lake, about 60 miles north of Atlanta. The lake is mostly inside Gilmer County, but part of it extends into Murray County. Sabreliners are used for training navigators and other non-pilot air crew officers for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and foreign military services.
Our business is very unforgiving. My thoughts & prayers are with the crew & those affected.
Robbie
No survivors in wreckage of jet found in Walker County
01/11/06
Email this story to a friend
From AP, staff reports
LaFAYETTE — The crash site of a missing Navy jet with four aviators aboard was found late Wednesday, more than 24 hours after it failed to make its scheduled landing at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida following a low-level bomb training mission, the Civil Air Patrol said.
All four crewmen were killed, said Dallas Battle, a detective with the Floyd County Police Department. Battle and three Georgia State Patrol troopers came upon the wreckage after it was spotted by a GSP helicopter.
Floyd County Sheriff Tim Burkhalter said the wreckage was found in southern Walker County between Lake Marvin and Villanow. Burkhalter said he could not confirm if the wreckage is that of a missing Navy jet, but moments later Joyner confirmed that it was the missing plane.
The search for a Navy jet and the four aviators on board covered a swath of Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama on Wednesday. Capt. Lee Little, a pilot in charge of Training Wing 6 based at Pensacola, said the search area stretched from Chattanooga to Montgomery over rugged terrain. It was scaled back substantially for the night.
The Navy T-39 Sabreliner took off from Chattanooga and was scheduled to arrive in Pensacola around 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Navy Lt. j.g. Sean Robertson, a public affairs officer. A Navy instructor, a Navy student, an Air Force student and a civilian contract pilot were on board, Robertson said. Their identities have not been released.
Authorities were responding to reported sightings of a plane in distress in an area from Walker County, just south of Chattanooga, Tenn., to Mineral Bluff, Ga., just south of the western tip of North Carolina. ``Since our first report from the Air Force, we have received calls from as far away as ... Mineral Bluff from residents claiming they saw a plane that appeared to be in trouble. And they believed it was a military aircraft,'' said Capt. Mike Mabrey of the Gilmer County, Ga., Sheriff's Department.
The aircraft was assigned to Training Squadron 86. It took off for a navigation training mission around 11 a.m. from Chattanooga. The last radio contact came at 11:20 a.m., Robertson said. ``All we know is the aircraft made contact, and we haven't heard anything since,'' he said. Little said the trainer jet was equipped with an emergency location transmitter, but the device was not transmitting. Officials did not know why. She said the plane would have been flying at between 500 and 1,000 feet.
``They are practicing running at a low level to a target and dropping the bombs,'' Little said. ``We don't carry bombs on these aircraft, but they are simulating what they would be doing in a tactical aircrat. She said there was no distress call before the plane disappeared. ``The mood on the base is difficult today. But we all understand the hazards of flying,'' she said. The Civil Air Patrol had aircraft over the search area, while sheriff's deputies and other emergency responders scoured the heavily wooded countrysides of north Georgia. Early search efforts were hampered by the rugged terrain and rainy weather.
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said he had set up a command post in southern part of his county, directly south of Chattanooga, after a woman reported hearing a plane in distress and a farmer working in his field who said he heard what sounded like a crash. ``Two different people told us they had spotted what they thought was this plane flying low, I think somewhere about 12:30'' Tuesday afternoon, Wilson said. Searchers on the ground initially looked in an area that includes Carters Lake, about 60 miles north of Atlanta. The lake is mostly inside Gilmer County, but part of it extends into Murray County. Sabreliners are used for training navigators and other non-pilot air crew officers for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and foreign military services.
Our business is very unforgiving. My thoughts & prayers are with the crew & those affected.
Robbie
Fri Jan 13, 2006 2:41 am
Very sad news. I see those Saberliners around here all the time, and can personally attest to the terrain...you'd be in deep shyte is something went wrong (always in my mind as I look down upon endless rolling hills).
Very sad.....
Very sad.....
Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:58 pm
Stuff happens quick when you are low & fast.
Published - January, 18, 2006
Navy plane clipped trees
Lesley Conn
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
A Navy plane that crashed last week in the north Georgia mountains clipped trees about a mile before it broke apart in rugged terrain, Georgia emergency officials said Wednesday.
Pieces of the plane’s wings were found near damaged trees, said David Ashburn, the director of emergency services for Walker County.
Four people, including the pilot, Retired Navy Cmdr. Dave Roark, 68, of Pensacola, died in the Jan. 10 crash.
The plane was found about a half mile off a road in Chattahoochee National Forest in a valley between Horn Mountain and John’s Mountain, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said.
“On approach to the crash site, there were snapped trees,’’ Wilson said. “In speaking with Naval authorities, it does appear that a preliminary cause could be that the plane clipped a tree on an adjacent mountain.’’
Navy investigators will not comment on possible causes of the crash until the mishap investigation team finishes its report, said Ed Barker, spokesman for the Naval Education Training Command.
Barker did confirm that the plane was flying at about 500 feet and was traveling at 347 mph.
Regards
Robbie
Published - January, 18, 2006
Navy plane clipped trees
Lesley Conn
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
A Navy plane that crashed last week in the north Georgia mountains clipped trees about a mile before it broke apart in rugged terrain, Georgia emergency officials said Wednesday.
Pieces of the plane’s wings were found near damaged trees, said David Ashburn, the director of emergency services for Walker County.
Four people, including the pilot, Retired Navy Cmdr. Dave Roark, 68, of Pensacola, died in the Jan. 10 crash.
The plane was found about a half mile off a road in Chattahoochee National Forest in a valley between Horn Mountain and John’s Mountain, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said.
“On approach to the crash site, there were snapped trees,’’ Wilson said. “In speaking with Naval authorities, it does appear that a preliminary cause could be that the plane clipped a tree on an adjacent mountain.’’
Navy investigators will not comment on possible causes of the crash until the mishap investigation team finishes its report, said Ed Barker, spokesman for the Naval Education Training Command.
Barker did confirm that the plane was flying at about 500 feet and was traveling at 347 mph.
Regards
Robbie
Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:22 am
I spent many an hour flying over the terrain in North Georgia with the Civil Air Patrol. I can attest to the ruggedness and the difficulty in locating a crashed aircraft. There's a lot of what we called cumulo-granite up there.
My thoughts and prayers are with the aircrew's families.
Walt
My thoughts and prayers are with the aircrew's families.
Walt