Good Officer, Bad Pilot | 1996 Nashville F-14 Tomcat Crash

[@williameggleton414]

Next Friday, Allec will upload his 700th air disaster video!

[@andrewk2996]

And I've watched every one of them

[@frostyfrost4094]

I ve got a lot of catching up

[@davimatt7301]

I guess yea?

[@nommadd5758]

"Good Officer, Bad Pilot" Excellent title!

[@npxmnpxm]

NYT (1/31/96): Admiral Bennitt said that Navy officials approved Commander Bates's request to use a maximum-performance takeoff, in which a pilot turns on the jet's after-burner and soars straight up moments after the aircraft leaves the ground. After screaming up through the clouds, the F-14 then came straight down, exploding into a huge fireball. The Tomcat was carrying 16,000 pounds of fuel on takeoff. "We may never know why the crew didn't eject," Rear Adm. Skip Dirren told reporters this morning. Newer fighter planes do have recorders, Admiral Dirren said, but they were not included when the F-14A's were built in the 1970's. The Grumman Corporation, now the Northrop-Grumman Corporation, manufactured the F-14's, which cost $32 million each. Killed besides Commander Bates, 33, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was the jet's radar operator, Lieut. Graham Alden Higgins, 28, of Dover-Foxcroft, Me. Three civilians were also killed when the plane hit a house. They were Elmer Newsom, 66; his wife, Ada, 63, and a friend, Ewing T. Wair, 53. "One guy was just sitting on his couch," James Dean, a firefighter, told The Associated Press. "He never had a chance. They were all just sitting where they were."

[@bajabret60]

His CO was also relieved? As a former sailor, good to see that sometimes sh*t rolls uphill

[@cindysavage265]

Yes, his CO colluded in hiding his incompetence. I worked with a “good officer” who killed a patient. My CO threatened an Article 15 to whoever talked about the incident. The tech involved felt he did something wrong, tho, so I reassured him he did everything he could. Of course, I was turned in to the CO. I told him, “Put that A15 right here and I will sign it”. He didn’t, of course, because it was an empty threat.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Standards were compromised and shit happens

[@None-zc5vg]

As with the Air Force B-52 crash in 1994, caused by a hot-headed pilot whose previous reckless flying had been known about but which wasn't stopped.😅

[@KyoushaPumpItUp]

@@None-zc5vg Allec Joshua Ibay also made a video about that crash.

[@jamessimms415]

See Kara Hultgreen

[@stevehicks8944]

I lived just across I-24 from the crash site. The DoD, FAA and Metro Nashville Police had the area cordoned off for a couple of days. One of my co-workers was an F-14 plane captain in the Navy. He knew what had happened when we couldn’t hear the engines any longer.

[@wrestlingstuffv2]

At least Hob got to be unaware of what happened due to passing out. Another "Bud" Holland like pilot, eh? SMH. Great job Allec.

[@gort8203]

I have to wonder how they know he lost consciousness.

[@hawkeye681]

VF-213 had always had a reputation for bad luck. I remember this mishap, was in the fleet at the time. Very sad but preventable loss.

[@AlanToon-fy4hg]

Ward Carroll had an excellent segment on this a while back.

[@christopherblack3102]

I was working in Texas at the time and heard about the crash on the radio news. My elderly Aunt lived in Nashville not far from the crash. I found a pay phone ( days before cell phones ) and called her to see if she was okay. She was glad I called because nobody else checked up on her. She was really kinda rattled by the incident, but she was okay. Really baffling to me why a Navy pilot with so much experience would do something like that.

[@adammcdonald798]

I can't believe they were sending this CHARACTER to TOP GUN

[@sarahalbers5555]

Ikr?

[@josephburke7224]

I watched him takeoff from the north end of the runway. Thought "what is that idiot doing". It was low overcast. Never good to zoom up in that soup. Heard it coming back down. Just thought he was turning in another direction. If I kept looking. I might have seen him break out. I heard the crash and saw the smoke.

[@billirvin9057]

As somebody once said, "there are old pilots and bold pilots but no old bold pilots". This guy never should've been flying fighters. Tragic story.

[@Supersean0001]

Shouldn't have been flying anything IFR. If you're disoriented, you look at your instruments and see what they're telling you, or in this case TRYING to tell you. This was a long time ago in Naval Aviation circles. There's always been an element that tends to allow the "Sierra Hotel" types to get away with things from time to time, but sometimes that attitude leads directly to letting an unqualified aviator to continue flying and being a hazard to themselves and their crew mates. What was the line from "Top Gun"? Something like, "Standards exist for a reason, and they are not flexible, nor am I.". But then again they let Maverick keep flying and become the idolized ultimate fighter jock. Thank you, Hollywood. Of course it wouldn't be a blockbuster movie if Mav ended up as a deskbound paper pushing supply officer.

[@FH99]

You would think the Navy would have left piloting a multi-million dollar fighter jet to somebody more competent than this guy.

[@Eds7570]

They took a short cut to replace their pilots by lowering their standards, then this happens, the result with tragic consequences of 5 people losing their lives. I'll bet some heads rolled over that one, and the Navy had to pay out on a lawsuit.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Yep too many ignored red flags. Sad that three civilians had to get killed because of that.

[@acepilotson3331]

@@Eds7570heads rolled?? 😂 unlikely. More likely people got promoted

[@Eds7570]

@@acepilotson3331 Believe me, you screw up in the military there's usually backlash. His CO got the boot. His career was over.

[@acepilotson3331]

@@Eds7570 well that’s refreshing to hear. I did comment before the end of the video where they mentioned the CO being relieved of duty. Probably a lesson in there for me that I won’t learn. 😉

[@petuniaskunk2316]

Stopping kids from saying 'stopping kids from saying first'

[@Randomly_Browsing]

Why

[@petuniaskunk2316]

@ Hot take: Stopping kids from first is the same level as saying first

[@geemanbmw]

Captain Dale Snodgrass, testified to this incident in front of congress. He claimed just the same as toThe title to this video.

[@ronanstis6328]

That is why aircraft are fitted with instruments which allow IFR flight, and they must be trusted. As a flying instructor, I would take students learning IF into actual IMC without their knowledge, as I was aware that they would be "cheating" and peeping around the IFR "hood" that they were wearing to simulate IMC. I would then remove the hood. Not one student retained control of the aircraft for longer than six seconds! Not one student failed to thank me for the brutal lesson. Trust your instruments, and totally focus on scanning and using them correctly.

[@frankblangeard8865]

Some people stay at home because it is dangerous out there and staying home is safer. Then an F-14 Tomcat crashes into your house!

[@fredmitchel1236]

I was involved in quite an accident with a F4. 1967 ish time in Tucson AZ, While doing a ice cream run at the Food Giant. I think I was 8 years old. Parents were more afraid of me crossing Alvernon road. I just picked up the Shamrock Neapolitan...heard a terrific jet much louder noise getting louder...I just left the freezer section...BOOM back of supper market explodes in fiery fireball...the heat wave helped me run faster.. I still scored the ice cream and didn't even pay for it. Thank you Jesus and the gods for looking out for me... The F4 is still my favorite bird... The fly boys were practicing that night...

[@Eds7570]

@@frankblangeard8865 Yeah, pretty shocking, one moment, you're kicking back, relaxing watching some TV, and the next thing you know, a jet comes crashing into your house, sending you off into eternity.

[@doriangray2020]

Well if they wanted to be safe they should have bought a home a lot further from the airport!

[@fredmitchel1236]

@doriangray2020 Yah.. But being poor folk from IL -my grandfather bought a home close to Davis Monathan AFB...a nice house. Actually our home was 10 miles away..We got left at Gramps for pops was doing a federal prisoner transport using the Citroen cause it could eat the pavement up and get outstanding mpg compared to domestic big three ...When i heard the chance to go to gramps me and my sisters went. Plus the Xmas tree was already up and aunt Kay spoiled us That wasn't my only encounter with the F4...

[@rwill156]

According to the National Safety Council, 76.3% of all preventable injuries happen at home. That's why I never go home.

[@JesseJames-wj8ft]

Not vertigo, which is a condition when someone standing still perceives motion and spinning around them - There is always motion & spinning flying a high performance jet. He suffered from spatial disorientation in the cloud bank, same as the Kobe Bryant helicopter pilot. Chopper pilot had more of an excuse, as he was not authorized to fly into clouds, tried anyhow and failed. He didn't have the power or momentum to break out, Sprout sure as hell did. I don't know why in the world Sprout didn't simply punch through to blue sky, then he would not have been disorientated any longer. He was likely around 4K ft when he busted out of the low cloud deck, probably took a second or 2 for the gravity of the situation to sink it and for his brain to believe what his eyes were telling him, was already too late then. Obviously, he could have flown by instruments as well, maybe that is where his lack of training, or failure to properly absorb the training, came into play.

[@57Jimmy]

Well, back then and it also being a military investigation, it was the investigators who said ‘vertigo’.

[@cogitoergospud1]

Actually, it’s neither vertigo nor spatial disorientation. It is somatogravic illusion.

[@JesseJames-wj8ft]

@@57Jimmy I'll stand corrected when you provide proof

[@JesseJames-wj8ft]

@@cogitoergospud1 You are saying that the aircraft being engulfed in thick overcast was not a factor ? Anyhow, spatial disorientation & somatogravic illusion are not far apart, as both require a pilot to ignore instruments and rely on senses. Somatogravic illusion can happen on a clear day, spatial disorientation can not.

[@nocalsteve]

You have to understand that as the airplane started to nose over it started to accelerate. So there was a decrease in the “weight” on the seat and an increase of being “pushed back” in the seat. I pilot could perceive this as the aircraft continuing to pitch-up into the vertical and starting to climb into the top of a loop. A disoriented pilot would then continue to push forward on the stick trying to lower the nose which only makes the feeling worse as the aircraft starts accelerating toward the ground. The pilot had no clue the airplane was heading for the ground until he descended out of the clouds and saw a planet in front of him.

[@rickn8or]

"In response to the accident, the US Navy cancelled the NFO to pilot transition program." Nice going, Sprout...

[@wobblybobengland]

Clue is in the surname, they don't focus enough on that.

[@robs5688]

@@wobblybobengland Bates? Why is that important?

[@Eric-kn4yn]

​​​@@wobblybobengland cancelled seems it was for the best

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

The US Navy has stated that preserving pilot jobs is not part of their mission. It's probably not part of any military or company mission.

[@foofghtr]

I’m part of the same program, I had no problems learning every NATOPS flight rule for the F-14. I have served with a lot of great guys who weren’t that bright, and some I’ve wondered how they got F-14’s. Academy grads always get what they ask for because it’s their Navy. AOCS and NROTC guys come in second and third. This program was for guys who didn’t have 20/20 natural, RIO’s with corrected to 20/20 vision, normal color vision and normal depth perception. That was always the hardest test, forget reading an eye chart. In the Navy the rules are you have to have 20/20 natural to be an aviator, so anyone with other than that and the mentioned above could be a RIO. So when the crisis occurred this got waived. Pilots that had 20/20 Natural when they got their wings, then needed correction were always allowed to remain active Naval Aviators if they needed glasses. I know many. The airlines grabbed a lot of our guys in the late 80’s. The thing is, to get one of us, we still had to fulfill our obligation to the Navy for Naval Aviation which is wings plus 8 years.

[@peterlovett5841]

With all the instrumentation at his beck and call he still couldn't do basic IF. Vertigo or somatogravic effect is something every pilot doing IF training should be taught, especially in a very high performance aircraft like an F14.

[@justsmy5677]

All military pilots are taught about all forms of Spacial Disorientation. Have been for generations.

[@peterlovett5841]

@@justsmy5677 Obviously, this pilot forgot his lessons.

[@justsmy5677]

@@peterlovett5841 - an unrestricted 50 degree nose high climb in full afterburner is not instrument flying…even if you are in the weather. It was poor judgement and airmanship…even before brake release.

[@peterlovett5841]

@@justsmy5677 Agree wholeheartedly. But if your going to fly into cloud then you had better be on instruments because anything else is going to betray you, as his senses did.

[@bullseyes1983]

Nothing wrong with aircraft, nothing wrong with thw weather... Just plain dumb flying. I feel sorry for the people in the house.

[@00calvinlee00]

VF-213 was part of Air Wing 11 which had another fatal F-14A crash which Alec covered, the death of LT Kara Hultgreen. CVW-11 had training and leadership issues.

[@davidtaylor9900]

LOVE your content brother...reminds me of Maverick in Top Gun...I have seen all your videos over the years and this one had me saying wow ,they let this dude have his own way and turned their heads to his inability to fly through Tomcat ,until it caused people their lives. Keep the GREAT work coming brother. Appreciate your efforts

[@00calvinlee00]

Air Wing 11 had a CO later trying to explain how he took one pilot's wings but not the wings of LCDR Bates. All the goons who run around complaining about "DEI" Aviators always get quiet when LCDR Bates comes up. They like targeting LT Lorenz and LT Hultgreen.

[@nocalsteve]

Okay, the pilot wasn’t watching his instruments and got disoriented, but let me explain why the plane did what it did. He pulled up into a 50 degree climb, which you have to imagine is very steep and the pilot is mostly laying on his back in the seat. When he starts to push over back to level flight, there is a decrease in G-force that makes the pilot feel lighter in his seat with his harness putting more pressure to hold him down in the seat. Meanwhile, as the aircraft’s nose begins to lower the airplane begins to speed up since it’s not going as “steeply uphill” as before. This acceleration pushed the pilot back into the seat. These two feelings of being pushed back into the seat and becoming lighter in the seat with the harness holding the pilot down in the seat are the same feelings that a pilot would have in the plane had the plane had continued to pull up into vertical. If the pilot believed the plane was still pulling up then he would push the stick forward more trying to lower the nose which only exacerbates the feeling. As the pilot continues to force the nose down, the sensations that he’s feeling only increase as the airplane starts to accelerate in a dive towards the ground. However, the pilot believes the airplane is starting to rotate backwards to the inverted as the Negative-G of the push has him “floating” in his harness as the airplane’s rapidly increasing speed makes him think the airplane is pointed into the sky. He doesn’t even realize he’s in a dive towards the ground until he zooms down out of cloud layer and sees nothing but ground in front of him. He had no time to recover from the dive before hitting the ground.

[@cindysavage265]

As a former USAF doctor, I worked with many “good officers” that I would not let treat my dog

[@sarahalbers5555]

I believe you.

[@BillSullivan-x5f]

Not mentioned is that the pilot was from the Nashville area and wanted to show off for his parents. Tragic accident I remember well.

[@maxsmodels]

I recall when this happened. So sad.

[@roberthudson1959]

This accident was a complete system failure by the USN. When someone screws up this often, whoever keeps giving them a chance to screw up has to share the blame. Sprout should not have received his wings, certainly not been sent to Top Gun school. and should not have retained his wings after having multiple issues.

[@rickn8or]

Nobody wanted to be The Bad Guy...

[@Eric-kn4yn]

​​​@@rickn8orloneliness of command

[@Eric-kn4yn]

​​@@rickn8orloneliness of command.

[@roberthudson1959]

@@rickn8or Or someone prioritized quantity over quality.

[@lemonator8813]

That is why the military as crippled as it is these days. It is all politics and 0 merit. It is all based on appearences, how well you did in academy, who your relatives are etc etc. The US military, the size it is, needs to be at war to work properly. We havent actuslly had a war large enough to justify our militsries size in 80 years. America is basically the retarted down syndrome child of the world that happens to be 7' 300 lbs and pench press Russia if it needed to.

[@BLACKMONGOOSE13]

Not the Navy’s first time overlooking poor performing Tomcat pilots. Look up Kara Hultgreen. Her incident happened less than 1 yr before this one.

[@sgrafx]

You mean spatial disorientation not vertigo right?

[@NeumsFor9]

I think he means that vertigo, which can be caused by existing anatomical circumstances, can be an exacerbating factor to spatial disorientation and make one more vulnerable to it.

[@SkyFive-5]

I seem to recall this accident being reported as a compressor stall. I lived less than 10 miles from the accident site when it occurred.

[@dblack2630]

I'm sure there was a compressor stall...just before the compressors hit the house.

[@planefun2962]

The majority of retreads did really well. Thats the sad part. Why cancel the program? Do they cancel the pilot pipeline when a normal pilot fks up?

[@johannesbols57]

I don't know. Maybe CHECK YOUR INSTRUMENT PANEL?????????????

[@Eds7570]

That's what I thought, this pilot was suppose to be instrument rated, with some of the best flight training you can get. The military when they lower their standards are enabling tragic events to occur. Unfortunately it happened.

[@kenclark9888]

If someone has vertigo they’re not believing in their mind what they’re seeing. They are “off balance” your remark is that of a non pilot

[@kenclark9888]

@@Eds7570not if you have vertigo

[@scottstewart9154]

so sad that the naval canceled the NFO to pilot program, some people make is so you can't have nice things

[@Jayden-rn3gn]

Thanks for video man.😊

[@mikemeadors2291]

The A-model had the original P&W engines, which were prone to the compressor stalls in certain profiles. If one engine stalled, and the pilot didn't make adjustments quick enough, the thrust from the other engine could cause a flat spin. This made the A-model a very unforgiving aircraft, even for top-tier pilots. If Sprouts wasn't proficient enough to trust his instruments, he could have just as well gotten disoriented in a Cessna 162 and nose-dived into the ground. Spatial disorientation is what caused the deaths of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens (all three on the same flight), Kobe Bryant, and JFK Jr., just to name a few.

[@nocalsteve]

The Buddy Holly plane crashed due to icing, not spatial disorientation. This F-14 crashed because the pilot believed the airplane was continuing to nose up into the vertical and onto its back when it was actually nosing over and diving into the ground. The kinesthetic sensations the pilot would feel are virtually identical. The pilot would have needed to be flying completely on instruments to comprehend what the airplane was doing.

[@mikemeadors2291]

@@nocalsteve The CAB report, released on 23 Sept, 1959, only mentioned ice as part of the forecast along the route. Granted, the report did not mention spatial disorientation, but did mentioned that Roger Peterson took off at night, overcast sky, no definite horizon, in a sparsely populated area with no ground lights, may not have been familiar with the instruments on the Bonanza, may have been confused by his instruments, put the aircraft into a steep right turn, slightly nose down, and hit the ground at 3000 ft/min. The report noted that Peterson had 52 hours of instrument training, but did not note how many night hours, nor instrument hours he logged. As for Spout, I disagree that he needed to be completely flying on instruments to comprehend what the plane was doing. The HUD gives attitude indications, so by looking straight ahead, the plane was telling him that he was nose-down. In any case, he should have been prepared to be flying on instruments. When flying cross-country in winter, it would be wise to plan on flying IFR. When Sprout and Hob took off from BNA, the ceiling was 2000 ft, which is MVFR conditions. In an unrestricted climb at +50 deg pitch, the plane would have gone into the clouds 15 seconds after takeoff, and Sprout should have been prepared for that.

[@markcardwell]

Thank you

[@tifoCAT]

The worst pilot in the history of the Navy

[@raymondyee2008]

Ward Caroll has a more detailed video on this F-14 crash.

[@kylecephus]

Working at BNA when this happened. Saw the plane the night before the crash on the ramp at Stevens Aviation

[@ShadesOClarity]

I just saw this and immediately thought, Lt. Cmdr Stacy Bates. Low transition 50-degree unrestricted climb into the weather at a civilian airport? Spatial D over the worst possible area. I don't think he was the best pilot but why was he sent to Top Gun if he sucked?

[@golfdoc1950]

Calling it the retread program speaks volumes.

[@computerguyrbxx]

love allec

[@fredcloud9668]

I feel for Bates parents. You had a good son.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Doing such maneuvers above populated areas is plain stupid. Sprout's past conduct raised a lot of red flags. His superiors as well as those who did nothing should have been court martialed and thrown out of the military. I've seen Tomcats fly in air shows and they were really badass. I'm sure most are retired from the service now (??)

[@AlanToon-fy4hg]

The F-14 was retired from U.S. service in 2006...

[@Eds7570]

@@muffs55mercury61 I saw a F-14 tomcat flying a demonstration flight at an airshow myself back in the 90s. The power these fighter jets have are pretty impressive.

[@muffs55mercury61]

@@Eds7570 Yes they certainly are.

[@paulcooper8818]

Unnecessary tragedy caused by poor piloting in an IFR situation. When you can't see what's going on, you must defer to the instruments.

[@JimBower-kb5rk]

He was showing off for his parents. I’m sure they were not impressed by subsequent events. Afterburners use up a heck of a lot of fuel, not something I would want to do on a long cross country.

[@JJOddo]

How many warning signs did they need to realize he was not capable or qualified for flight?

[@pavanatanaya]

The blame for this is on NAVY! making excuses for bad pilots

[@alanhowitzer]

I wish these were narrated.

[@franciscoszamrekribeiro5605]

By the way, you could make a video about the Dale "Snort" Snordgrass fatal crash. He was maybe the best F-14 Tomcat stunt pilot ever and unfortunatelly died of a very stupid way for being as he was...

[@thomasmixson7064]

Unnecessarily executing a high-performance climb from a commercial airport into low hanging clouds exhibits pilot's incompetency to act as PIC. Further incompetency is displayed in his inability to control aircraft in IMC. These deficiencies should have been reported by the radar intercept officer to their commanding officer. If I were he, I'd risk my career with a big..NO/GO...before flying with him.

[@billlawrence1899]

DAMMIT!! Every professional pilot knows what verdigo is and to By God believe your instruments! And how in blue blazes doea a pilot like that even qualify to go to Top Gun?

[@BarnFindAerospace3G]

The pilot skill deficiencies weren't the main issue IMO, it sounds like the guy simply had poor judgement. High performance climb into IMC? Why? Engaging a target without permission? Yeah, there are risks being a fighter pilot but unnecessary added risk is just poor judgement.

[@fungezap1579]

In the mid '70s my mom used to drop me off at a parking area near Dobbins AFB in Ga, where I'd film departures while she left to go shopping. The most dramatic was an F-14 that rose off the runway, sucked the gear up, then porpoised down the field like on a roller coaster until turning up vertical. I've always regretted not keeping that film. I did like the ballsy showboating pilots, but it only takes a few misfits like this guy to force a clampdown on that 😢.

[@sidoney101]

Somatogravic illusion rather than vertigo?

[@1olddirtroad]

"Possible" that he was trying to impress his parents??? Hell everyone in Nashville knew why he did it...

[@sbgroen]

Bravado kills.

[@blackhawkorg]

The poor RO and civilians. Not the Right stuff.

[@josephschopp3642]

He may not have been the best pilot, but you gotta admire him for becoming a naval pilot at such a late stage of his career. God bless him, his RIO, the poor folks in the house, their families and all the pilots out there. You in oarticular, Alecc. Save travels, compadre. My prayers are with you. Oh, thanks for doing the midwest express crash in milwaukee. I was friends with the parents of one of the pilots. I dont know if you saw my request, but you came out with the midwest crazh a few months afterwards. I used to watch a lot of different crash videos, but yours are by far the best. Thanks for all the videos.

[@tomcarr4630]

I remember that crash like it happened today.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

​​​ he was a naval pilot ?

[@SuperMyacc]

That's a very nice way of looking at it, but the actions of the people responsible for preventing such an accident killed three people in that house.

[@cindysavage265]

The Navy is not the place to reward bad pilots who stick with the program.

[@sarahalbers5555]

Precisely.

[@sarahalbers5555]

Why was this pilot allowed to continue in this program? He had proven to be a huge liability. Hard to believe he got so many undeserved opportunities.

[@rogerhuber3133]

I'll bet his parents were really impressed!

[@scottyjohnson3120]

Yeah, I bet.

[@dpmoos3225]

what a stupid comment. Are you proud of yourself? Think about this pilot what you want but joking about his parents finding his flying performance (which is dying) on this day not impressive is beyond tasteless. Shame on you.

[@rogerhuber3133]

@@dpmoos3225 Chill, Dude! Others agreed.

[@mph1ish]

@@rogerhuber3133 Yes, beyond tasteless. You cannot begin to imagine their agony, nor would you want to.

[@MrCrystalcranium]

Didn't they teach Navy pilots to use an ADI back then? Somatographic illusion must be pretty powerful. If you're in VFR with no autopilot on, you focus on your horizon indicator. Simple technique.

[@ltjjenkins]

Sprout cosplaying Maverick

[@NeumsFor9]

This goes so much higher than the commanding officer IMO but what do I know.....

[@PJHEATERMAN]

Spatial disorientation and your rated in the F-14. Who checked this idiot out. Bad officer/bad pilot.

[@kms250]

Was there a lawsuit over this?

[@ForbiddenHistoryLIVE]

THANK YOU ALLEC Peace & Enlyghtenment Alwayz Dezert-Owl from OHIO USA Author / Translator / Journalist Polymath / Professional Speaker / Available for Interviews

[@missyTL]

Why was this guy still allowed to fly IDK

[@randyvac01]

That's how the military works. Don't care what you do as long as news isn't reporting it after the fact.

[@Eds7570]

@@missyTL Because his CO kept turning a blind eye to it, and whomever else was responsible kept ignoring this pilot's flying mishaps. It's like good cops cover for bad cops, nobody wants to take responsibility.

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

Thankfully, technology has opened more opportunities to avoid the fragile human factor.

[@57Jimmy]

Unfortunately that same technology is a double edged sword. It has also opened up more opportunities for general aviation pilots with deep pockets and soaring egos to think they can handle everything and wind up being a lawn dart, often taking out their whole family.😢

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

Technology has made planes safer in 100 years of aviation and will continue to do so. Human pilots haven't changed one bit in 100 years. They keep making the same mistakes over and over with no end in sight. Humans can be counted on to continue to make errors in judgment.

[@lohrtom]

Was the aircraft repaired and return to service?

[@donnabaardsen5372]

Are you kidding? Re-watch the video!

[@muffs55mercury61]

Junked for parts (?)

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Did any flight surgeons find any history of vertigo?

[@RichardS-qh8mi]

He made bad choices in asking for an unrestricted climb into thick, low level, cloud. ATC should’ve refused given the weather, but the responsibility still lies with pilot in command. Also, having family nearby is always a potential risk as it was clear he wanted to impress them with his near vertical pull up, yet with a cloud base at 800ft he’d only have been visible for a spilt second. All rather pointless really and ended up costing 5 people their lives. Very sad but inevitable eventually when young men and high performance aircraft are partnered.

[@williamhanna2613]

If I wanted to read I would buy the book

[@mph1ish]

Go elsewhere then. Plenty of other channels read to you.

[@Dan.d649]

It was not a very good decision by the Navy to slot this pilot into such an assignment. Having a history of previous troubles, they still went on to have him to flight-ready status, because they considered his training to be sufficient. The F-14 "Tomcat" was a very technically advanced airplane. If important steps were not taken during the takeoff roll, then the airplane would be put into a critical situation, also disabling this pilot to further react to control. RIP✝️

[@alanhowitzer]

Onto is one word

[@jamessimms415]

Ward Carroll had a good video on the pilot

[@georgeburns7251]

He would have been a candidate for Boeing test pilot. The union would have recommended him. Thankfully, he expired before becoming an airline pilot.

[@tonymaddox9272]

I used to live in that house.

[@jimstenz2459]

I was stationed on the USS Abraham Lincoln from 89 to 94 and VF-213 was assigned to the air wing. I have a part of the Tomcat that had a ramp strike during our 93 Westpac. The Rio survived but the pilot died when he didn't separate from the seat and crashed to the flight deck along the 1 row by cat 1.

[@Flying_Snakes]

Doesn't the F14 havve HUD?

[@Eds7570]

@@Flying_Snakes Yes, since it was a fighter.

[@4ndroidG]

Yes, however it is a very basic HUD compared to more modern aircraft. No airspeed, bank angle etc. Regardless of that, the pilots idea to make a zoom climb into the clouds was maybe the biggest factor here.

[@wes11bravo]

Very sad.

[@slidefirst694]

FUBAR

[@saganich74]

FUBAR

[@johnk4009]

FUMBAR

[@waynejpark560]

Things can happen fast in airplanes.

[@JK-g62]

Even faster in fighter jets

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

Too fast for human pilots. I guess some other form of technology is needed to assume command of aircraft.

[@Eds7570]

Yes, in fighters especially. If you get behind on the aircraft as this pilot kept doing, it's not surprising this happened. It's tragic his back seater, and some civilians were taken out along with him.

[@JK-g62]

@@Eds7570 yes...the innocent people who tragically lost their lives in this from the pilot's error is whats truly sad

[@roderick2105]

Was he a DEI hire ??

[@trent3872]

I was wondering the exact same thing. It has all the classic signs. 😮.

[@Eds7570]

@@roderick2105 No, it was a program by the Navy, to replace pilots who got out of the service, for flight crews, such as RIOs, in the F-14, which is the radar intercept officer who sits in the back seat, can apply for naval flight training.

[@00calvinlee00]

DEI wasn't a thing back in the 1990s, contrary to what the TV show JAG claimed. There was often a "Good Ol Boys" that protected pilots who should have been grounded. Air Wing 11 had a lot of issues with pilots not making the grade. CVW-11's CAG knew about Bates' landing grades and other issues. VF-213 lost at least two F-14s in one year.

[@salninethousand2496]

No. He was significantly tested having been in the backseat of military aircraft. He was kept in the front seat because of the good ole boys club, which is just a precursor to DEI. For a far worse example, research the pilot of the B-52 crash in Spokane just a couple years prior - WAY worse (and way worse consequences, too).

[@Nobilangelo]

That didn't buff out.

[@robertaccorsini4663]

I don’t think he needed to be named.

[@JuliusUnique]

how are fighter jets even still legal? yikes humans, yikes society

[@frishhawk]

'Murica!

[@slidefirst694]

#1

[@waynejpark560]

No.

[@bubzilla6137]

Your comment is actually #2. Almost had it though! 🙂