F/A-18E Pliots Suspended For This.

Steyr

Is it maybe a bit harsh to suspend them for this flyby? I don't see any 'nearly tragic' consequences. Why not just give them the mother of all talk downs instead of clipping their wings, the conditions from the video show near if not perfect conditions for a flyby and those "E" Hornets have more than ample power if needed be and the flyby itself looks very well under contol and professional.

Video A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBM8kGao_ao

Video B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdnpAAoVeYQ&NR=1

Video C: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KZPMD6okw0&NR=1

Report: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/03/navy_pilots_punished_031910w/

Pilots grounded for good after low flyover

By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 19, 2010 14:34:44 EDT

NORFOLK, Va. — Two F/A-18E Super Hornet pilots from Strike Fighter Squadron 136 have been permanently grounded for flying too low before a Georgia Tech football game Nov. 7, according to a source.

The pilots, both mid-’90s graduates of Georgia Tech, flew over Bobby Dodd Stadium in downtown Atlanta at just a few hundred feet above the stadium, under the 1,000 feet minimum required by Navy rules.

Multiple videos of the flyover, posted on YouTube, show the planes screaming low over the stadium.

“I can confirm the incident did happen,” said Lt. Cmdr. Phil Rosi, spokesman for Naval Air Force Atlantic. “But it would be inappropriate to comment further as these are not public figures and have an expectation of privacy.”

But documents obtained by Navy Times and authenticated by a senior Navy official familiar with the investigation name the pilots as Lt. Cmdr. Marc Fryman and Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Condon. Both were assigned to non-flying jobs through an administrative process called a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board, the results of which are not released by the Navy.

In the documents, Rear Adm. R.J. O’Hanlon, commander of AirLant, was unforgiving in his assessment of the incident and in Fryman and Condon’s future in naval aviation.

“Fryman failed to provide effective [crew resource management] for his flight lead and allowed an unsafe flyby to occur with nearly tragic consequences,” O’Hanlon wrote of the mission commander. “Despite his spotless record, his complacent, passive response to a major altitude transgression is unforgivable in my view.

“Continued aviation service involving flying is not in the best interest of Lt. Cmdr. Fryman or the United States Navy.”

O’Hanlon’s judgment of Condon was equally tough. The admiral wrote that Condon ignored low-altitude warnings and didn’t “keep altitude in his scan” and that the incident could have ended “tragically.”

O’Hanlon dismissed the conclusion by some of the reviewers of the board’s results that the altitude error was unintentional.

“The arguments written by prior endorsers that Lt. Cmdr. Condon’s actions were an honest mistake are not persuasive,” he wrote. “He is a senior, very experienced department head who placed his aircraft and wingman in a very dangerous position.”

Both will stay in the Navy, but O’Hanlon recommended both have a “warfare transition” to another officer community.

The pilots reported the low pass themselves upon landing and the Navy convened the evaluation board immediately to determine if the officers violated Navy rules.

Navy records show that Condon was reassigned to AirLant on Feb. 12, but Fryman’s record still shows him at VFA 136. However, sources say that he, too, is at AirLant.

“The results are tough for sure, but they broke the rules and got a proper punishment for what they did,” said the senior Navy official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter. “It may seem tough, but it’s a safety issue and the admiral made the right call.”

Victor

All well and good until they hit a flock of birds over a crowded location. Persumably this was done "for kicks".

Scrambled egg

That is so cool, thanks for the links

Drummerboy08

Were their callsigns Maverick and Goose by any chance?

Steyr

Victor wrote: »

Persumably this was done "for kicks".

Do you mean for kicks by the pilots? IMO that looks controlled and they were hardly twisting and turning or doing anything extreme. Flyby's/fly overs are extremely common practice in America.

PeterIanStaker

Ok it was a bit low, but hardly reckless, its not like they did a loop the loop over the stadium or something.

Artur.PL

They did not have flight plan? No minimum altitude during the flight over the point? It is hard to believe they have got carte blanche for this kind of flight.

Anyway video is amazing.

Victor

Steyr wrote: »

Do you mean for kicks by the pilots? IMO that looks controlled and they were hardly twisting and turning or doing anything extreme. Flyby's/fly overs are extremely common practice in America.

And they were substantially below the top of quite a few buildings - Atlanta has 15 buildings over 500 feet high and a further 18 over 400 feet high. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Atlanta

Regardless, they broke the rules. The military is about rules. IF they want to break the rules, they can go elsewhere.

LD 50

Victor wrote: »

And they were substantially below the top of quite a few buildings - Atlanta has 15 buildings over 500 feet high and a further 18 over 400 feet high. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Atlanta

Regardless, they broke the rules. The military is about rules. IF they want to break the rules, they can go elsewhere.

Exactly. It sucks, and while they are experienced and it was completely safe, they are also experienced enough to know what happens to fly boys who break the rules.

Cool vids though

sesna

I imagine it costs millions for the US military to train its pilots, not to mention the time involved in gaining the experience these guys had.

I agree they deserve to face the repercussions for breaking the rules but Its amazing that this one stunt has left them permanently grounded.

On a separate note, I wonder how they timed their fly-by to within 5 seconds of the end of the anthem

Steyr

sesna wrote: »

On a separate note, I wonder how they timed their fly-by to within 5 seconds of the end of the anthem

It's all pre-arranged and they always have a ground co-ordinator in the area where the flyby is due to happen, i think the ground co-ordinator essentially calls them in, seen some vids of that on youtube and discovery channel, timed exactly to the end of the Anthem.