• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Meridian T-45 mishap.

Status
Not open for further replies.

beau

Registered User
Thoughts and prayers with his family!

very quite mood around the squadrons today.......too bad we have to realize how dangerous our jobs can be sometimes......
 

notatus

Registered User
Can you post the info on the mishap. Just easier for an outsider down in the grand P-cola to add them to our prayers.
 

EODDave

The pastures are greener!
pilot
Super Moderator
From the local newspaper:

NAS identifies pilot in crash
By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 11:25 PM CST

CRASH SCENE - A U.S. Navy investigator examines the wreckage area on Wednesday of a T-45C "Goshawk" that crashed at 6:25 p.m. the night before in the woods near Naval Air Station Meridian's air strip. The pilot was killed in the accident, which remains under investigation. PHOTOS BY PAULA MERRITT / THE MERIDIAN STAR






Naval Air Station Meridian officials have identified a student pilot killed Tuesday in a training exercise.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Steven Elledge, USNR, 25, from Orlando, Fla, of Training Squadron 7 was killed when his T-45C "Goshawk" crashed just south of NAS Meridian's McCain Field.

Capt. Dan Ouimette, commander of Training Air Wing 1, said few details were available. He said the crash occurred while Elledge was practicing field carrier landing.

In a heavily wooded area about a mile from McCain Field where the plane went down, NAS Meridian's Mishap Investigation Group is working to determine what caused the crash. Ouimette said investigators are working to locate and tag each piece of the plane.

He said the aircraft data recorder has not been recovered. He said he expects the investigation to last one to two months.

Susan Junkins, director of public affairs at NAS Meridian, said Tuesday's crash is the base's first fatality involving a T-45C "Goshawk." The base's last fatality was in 1996, when Marine 1st Lt. Mike Warda was killed in a T2C "Buckeye."

The "Buckeye" is no longer flown at NAS Meridian.

Ouimette said there have been three accidents involving "Goshawks" in the past year and a half, but none have resulted in a fatality. He said the base has an excellent safety rating.

"We take young pilots and teach them advanced operations," Ouimette said. "It's a dangerous business we are in, but we will thoroughly investigate this accident so we can hopefully prevent it from happening in the future."

Ouimette said once all the pieces of the plane have been recovered, the investigation team will reassemble the accident scene to determine the cause.

Ouimette said Training Squadron 7 was given the day off Wednesday, but will resume training today. He said representatives of the Fleet and Family Service Center will offer counseling to help family and friends deal with their grief.

"These are the best of America, the cream of the crop, and we recognize that it affects everyone," Ouimette said.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top