The selected 2022 officers include: Thunderbird 3: Capt. 11 December 1954: Capt George Kevil was killed during solo training at Luke in an F-84G. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. The Air Force team, like the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, had switched to smaller aircraft after the 1973 oil crisis (the Navy switched from F-4 Phantoms to smaller A-4 Skyhawks). Thanks to engineer Brains, one of the world's leading scientific minds, iR is among the most . Personal Information processed: Usage Data; Tracker, Losses and Aviation Safety / Military Aviation, Airshows / Losses and Aviation Safety / Military Aviation, Dario Leone and The Aviation Geek Club, 2016. He is a 2005 graduate of Utah Valley State University, and commissioned from Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. in 2007. At the time of the destruction, the families of the pilots and NBC had already demanded access to the tapes as part of a suit against Northrop and a FOIA request, respectively. He flew 47 combat missions during the Persian Gulf War earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals. The Thunderbirds have performed at over 4,000 airshows worldwide, accumulating millions of miles in hundreds of different airframes over the course of their more than fifty-four years of service. In 2008, the Thunderbirds remained in North America, performing both in the United States and in Canada. In Captain Marvel, Brie Larson plays Carol Danvers, an Air Force fighter pilot who uses the special powers she gains during an accident to save the galaxy. Zachary Zeke Taylor, F-15C Instructor/Evaluator Pilot, 67th Fighter Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan, Thunderbird 6: Capt. She will fly as close as 18 inches from the No. Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. Both the pilot, Lieut. The team also conducted community outreach by meeting with needy children throughout Europe. He was an integral part of our team and our hearts are heavy with his loss. The spin was . Present-day USAF Thunderbirds carry the lineage, history, and honors of the 30th on active duty. The F-16 has been the demonstration aircraft for the Thunderbirds since the 1983 season. At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18; more than a dozen missing, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Trump met with early primary state GOP leaders, Deadly Thunderbirds crash marks 4th U.S. military aircraft crash this week. >>PHOTOS: Thunderbird flips on its top at Dayton Air Show. LAS VEGAS, NV The Air Force Thunderbirds this week selected new officers and pilots who will join the squadron in September for the 2022 and 2023 air show seasons. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Apparently Colonel Smith's parachute failed to open and he was fatally injured when he landed in a rocky area. Gao.gov. [3] Only a few minor modifications differentiate a Thunderbird from an operational F-16C. The cause of the crash, which was not visible to the spectators, was not immediately known. He was a former civilian flight instructor and banner tow pilot. Four crew members were killed when a Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed Tuesday in California during a training mission along the U.S.-Mexico border west of El Centro. He was the first F-35A pilot to serve as a Thunderbird. [8] On 26 January 1982, Congress passed Resolution 248, stating that "The Congress hereby affirms its strong support for continuation of the Thunderbirds program." In 1961, the team was compelled to discontinue the vertical bank maneuver due to an FAA regulation prohibiting aerobatics that pointed the nose of the aircraft toward the crowd. FT. GEORGE G. MEADE (AFNS) -- Since 1953, the Air Force's air demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, have captivated spectators across the world and showed its audiences what the Air Force's aircraft are capable of. The aircraft is repaired and later returned to service. The Air Force Thunderbirds pilot killed in a training crash Wednesday in Nevada was a longtime aviator who joined the elite demonstration team this season after two and a half years flying F-35s . 7 (operations officer), and the first-ever Air Force Reserve Command pilot, Maj. Sean Gustafson, also joined the team as Thunderbird No. 12 March 1959: Capt C. D. "Fish" Salmon, slot pilot, was killed after a collision during formation training near Nellis. Nearing the end the Diamond pulls straight up into the vertical to perform the signature "Bomb Burst," where all four aircraft break off in separate directions while a solo goes straight up through the maneuver and performs aileron rolls until 3 miles (4.8km) above the ground. The service says Maj. Stephen Del Bagno died when his jet went down around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday during a routine aerial demonstration training flight over the remote Nevada Test and Training Range, according to a statement from Nellis Air Force Base, where the Thunderbirds are based. The extreme G-forces caused him to lose consciousness and be absolutely incapacitated for the next five seconds. Personal data that are processed:Tracker; Usage Data. The incident was the third U.S. military aircraft crash this week. 25 July 1977: Capt Charlie Carter, Thunderbird pilot and narrator, was fatally injured after an aborted landing attempt in, 8 September 1981: Lt Col David L. Smith, commander of the Thunderbirds, was killed when his aircraft ingested seagulls while taking off from, 4 April 2018: Maj Stephen Del Bagno, slot pilot, was killed when his aircraft, Thunderbird No. December 11, 1954: Captain George Kevil killed during solo training.. The pilot ejected and was medically evaluated. [citation needed], The "Skyblazers[ja]" were the USAF demonstration team representing the United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) from the late 1940s through the 1950s. Christopher Boitz, Pittsburgh woman missing for 31 years found alive in Puerto Rico, School shooting survivor has emotional audition on "American Idol", Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed. Del Bagno, whose call sign was Cajun, was an experienced F-35 pilot, whose love of flying, enthusiasm and excitement for his first season with the Thunderbirds was apparent to all. Only three fatal crashes have occurred during air shows, two of them in jets: The first was the death of Major Joe Howard, flying Thunderbird No. The move to Nellis also resulted in the first assignment of buildings and hangar space to the team.[14]. June 23, 2017: Captain Erik Gonsalves injured during a landing prior to the Vectren Dayton Air Show. Thunderbird pilot Capt. GOING SUPERSONIC with U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds! To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Thunderbird 2: Capt. It appears that the pilot reverted back to his Nellis habit pattern for s aplit second. "Gene" Devlin was killed when his Republic F-105B broke apart as it pitched up for landing from a three-plane formation pass over, 12 October 1966: Maj Frank Liethen and Capt Robert Morgan were killed in a collision of two. Captain Bolt flew the slot position with the Thunderbird Aerial Demonstration Team. [9], On 2 April 1984, at the direction of Gen. Wilbur Creech, Commanding General, USAF Tactical Air Command, the two authorized and only known copies of the crash videotape were destroyed, with Creech himself erasing the portion of the master tape that showed the final impact and subsequent fireball of the four aircraft. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The opposing solos usually perform their maneuvers just under the speed of sound (500 to 700mph (800 to 1,130km/h)), and show off the capabilities of their individual aircraft by doing maneuvers such as fast passes, slow passes, fast rolls, slow rolls, and very tight turns. Captain Jerry D. S. Bolt, [USAF Academy] Class of 1964, was killed in an aircraft accident 73 miles north of Nellis AFB, NV on 21 December 1972. 6 on June 2, the day he split off for a routine maneuver and crashed into a field during an air show . Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing Commander. The Air Force on Thursday identified the Thunderbirds pilot killed in the F-16 crash at the Nevada Test and Training range as Maj. Stephen Del Bagno. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this blog contents without express and written permission from this site's author/owner is strictly prohibited. Thunderbird 2 is International Rescue 's heavy-equipment transporter, used primarily for missions dealing specifically within the Earth's atmosphere. Retrieved 30 August 2010. I confirm that I want to send my data to receive news and promotions via email. Maj. Del Bagno was 34 years old and lived in Valencia, California. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. The United State Air Force Thunderbirds were created in 1953. A member of his squadron summed up [Del Bagno] as just a beautiful human being.. The Air Force Thunderbirds pilot who was killed Wednesday when his fighter jet crashed northwest of Las Vegas has been identified. Del Bagno was in his first season as a pilot for the Air Force Air Demonstration Thunderbird team. April 6, 1961: Major Robert S. Fitzgerald and Captain George Nial killed during training. Four pilots were killed when their planes went down at Thunderbird Lake. At this time they were flying Lockheed F-80B Shooting Stars. In 1953 they became the aerobatic display team in 1953, taking the name Thunderbirds from the southwestern US folklore around Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. For a time, if the show's sponsor permitted it, the pilots would create a sonic boom; this ended when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned supersonic flight over the continental United States. Capt. He was a Top Gun Instructor, a United States Air Force Thunderbird Pilot, as well as an F-16 Squadron Commander. [1] Four Northrop T-38 Talon jets crashed during operational training on 18 January 1982, killing all four pilots. Solos: Thunderbird 5 takes to the air next, performing a clean low altitude aileron roll, followed by 6 who performs a split S, climbing in a near vertical maneuver, rolling over and diving back toward show center and pulling up just above the runway to exit in the opposite direction. It is also one of the oldest squadrons in the Air Force, its origins dating to the organization of the 30th Aero Squadron, formed at Kelly Field, Texas, on 13 June 1917. The difference in altitudes at Nellis and Mountain Home may have contributed to the pilot's error. January 2004 - June 2006, Pilot Career Field Manager, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, DC 13. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The most recent death occurred in 2016 during a practice run for an airshow in Smyrna, Tennessee. The Thunderbirds were formed in 1917 as an operational squadron. Del Bagno then started a descending half-loop maneuver called the Split-S, reaching a maximum of 8.56 Gs after five seconds, the report said. The Air Force's premier air. There's pieces of wreckage all over. After the pilot and seat depart the aircraft, the aircraft recovers on its own (apparently due to balance and configuration changes), circles, and miraculously makes a gentle belly landing in a snow covered field near the town of Big Sandy. The Air Force formed the Thunderbirds in 1953. A U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot crashed his F-16 Fighting Falcon in April after experiencing a gravity-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) during an aerial maneuver over the Nevada Test and . The pilot of a US Navy Blue Angel F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet was killed Thursday when the aircraft crashed in central Tennessee, a Navy official confirmed to Fox News. 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[22] His Phantom experienced a structural failure of the horizontal stabilizer, and Major Howard ejected as the aircraft fell back to earth tail first from about 1,500 feet and descended under a good canopy, but he landed in the aircraft fireball and did not survive. Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. In addition to their air demonstration responsibilities, the Thunderbirds are part of the USAF combat force and if required, can be rapidly integrated into an operational fighter unit. Some of their maneuvers include both solo aircraft at once, such as opposing passes (passing in close proximity to each other) and mirror formations (two aircraft being flown back-to-back in the calypso pass or belly-to-belly). In October 1974, he was selected to become a Thunderbird where he flew as number 5, lead solo, through November 1976. . No one on the ground was injured, even though the accident occurred adjacent to a roadway packed with onlookers. At least it seems like Stephen Del Bagno died doing something he truly loved and while executing a mission he believed deeply in, and we are grateful for everything he gave his country. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. '', The city airports director, George Doughty, said that Colonel Smith ''was advised by the tower that there were birds in the area before he took off.''. Air Force Times quotes an official USAF release as stating: While Heard led the team through a highly successful show season, Leavitt lost confidence in his leadership and risk management style Leavitt determined that new leadership was necessary to ensure the highest levels of pride, precision and professionalism within the team.. The Thunderbirds, known formally as the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, suspended public performances for six weeks after Del Bagnos loss. In fact, the number 5 on this aircraft is painted upside-down, and thus appears right-side-up for much of the routine. The Thunderbirds pilot died during a routine training flight at the Nevada Test and Training Range around 10:30 a.m., the Air Force confirmed in a statement. 27 July 1960: Capt J.R. Crane, advance pilot and narrator for the team, was killed during a solo proficiency flight at Nellis. The pilot was Capt. Lauren Schlichting, 333rd Fighter Squadron evaluating pilot and executive officer, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, to join their team. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations. Flying high-performance fighter jets is inherently dangerous; when flying in extremely close formation, the danger is compounded. Technology, performance and design delivered to your inbox. As a combat pilot, Creech flew 280 missions and was decorated 39 times, including 22 awards for bravery in combat. The wreckage spread uphill toward the summit, indicating a high-speed impact,. Maj. Zane Taylor, Thunderbirds 3-right wing pilot, climbs a ladder to the cockpit of an F-16 as he prepares to take off from Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The 2009 Far East Tour took the team to multiple locations on the western border of the Pacific Rim and included performances in Hawaii, Australia, Malaysia, Guam, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. [6] In January 1982, four members of the squadron were killed in what became known as the "Diamond Crash" of T-38 Talon aircraft which the squadron had flown since 1974. The Thunderbirds next flew a public demonstration in early 1983, more than 18 months after their last public air show. A five-page report of the mishap was published by Aviation Week & Space Technology in their issue dated 17 May 1982. The team continues to fly the F-16, having switched from the F-16A to the F-16C in 1992. The aircraft, valued at about $20.4 million, was destroyed. The Facebook Like button and social widgets are used to interact with the Facebook social networkand are provided byFacebook Ireland Ltd. He flew more than 40 types of aircraft including fighter, reconnaissance and cargo planes. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The year 1962 saw the introduction of dual solo routines, and the Thunderbirds went on their first European deployment in 1963, the year after the disbanding of the Skyblazers[ja] (see below). 4 slot plane, now regularly cleaned and shined like the others. This website uses technical and profiling cookies. To that, he responded: "Hang on we have a bunch of people down there". When he succeeds the bank decides to upgrade the alarm system. The identity of the pilot is being withheld for 24-hours pending next of kin notification. 6 April 1961: Maj Robert S. Fitzgerald, commander of the team, and Capt George Nial, advance pilot and narrator, were killed during a training flight at Nellis. USAF Aircraft Accidents Life Sciences Aspects, AprilJune 1972, Directorate of Aerospace Safety, Air Force Inspection and Safety Center, Norton AFB, California, pp. With Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, Peter Dyneley, Christine Finn. The F-16 was superior to the T-38 Talon that they previously flew. The same day, a Marine Harrier jet crashed during takeoff from an airport in the East African nation of Djibouti. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. Brigadier General E. Daniel Cherry entered the Air Force in July 1959 as an aviation cadet and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in July 1960. Creech, a former Thunderbird pilot of the 1950s, died Tuesday at his Henderson home. Randi Winther, Director of Staff, 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis AFB, NV. The pilot was Capt. Four pilots were killed when their planes went down at Thunderbird Lake. 4, crashed over the, Organized as: 3600th Air Demonstration Team, 25 May 1953, Organized as: 3595th Air Demonstration Flight, 19 November 1956, Constituted as: USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, and activated 13 February 1967, Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with 30th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), first organized on 13 June 1917, 3600th Fighter Training Wing, 25 May 1953 23 June 1956, USAF Advanced Fighter School, 19 November 1956 25 February 1967, USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center, 25 February 1967, Nellis AFB, Nevada, 19 November 1956 25 February 1967, North American F-100 Super Sabre, 19641966, North American F-100 Super Sabre, 19671968, This page was last edited on 20 January 2023, at 16:43. Creach, head of the Tactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, said a collision between birds and the jet could have been the cause. In January, an unspecified military aircraft aborted takeoff and caught fire at Nellis, but no serious injuries were reported. Broughton was hand-selected by Catledge to replace him, and is the only captain to serve as commander/leader of the team. Visually cueing off the lead aircraft during formation maneuvering, the wing and slot pilots disregarded their positions relative to the ground. His Thunderbirds biography said Del Bagno was also a corporate pilot and skywriter who graduated in 2005 from Utah Valley State University and was commissioned two years later from Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. Del Bagno is in his first season with the team and hails from Valencia, Calif.". A malfunction in the leader's plane led him and the three others to crash in the diamond formation straight into the desert. 4 (slot). The anonymization works by shortening the IP address of the Users within the borders of the member states of the European Union or other countries that are members of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. The Thunderbirds, formed in 1953 as the Air Force's stunt flying squadron, performed at Burke yesterday as part of the Cleveland National Air Show. Beginning in June 1982, the F-16 Thunderbirds were led by Major Jim Latham. It was awarded nine Presidential Unit Citations in World War II. The squadron was withdrawn to Australia, being reformed and later attacked Japan as a B-29 Superfortress squadron in 1945. We ask everyone to provide his family and friends the space to heal during this difficult time.". They have performed at over 4,000 airshows in front of more than 300 million people. [25], The first USAF jet-powered aerobatic demo team was the "Acrojets", performing early in 1949 with F-80Cs at the USAF Fighter School at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, and was headed by Captain Howard W. "Swede" Jensen. Gene Devlin's F-105 crash on May 9, 1964. ''It skidded about 1,500 feet along the runway. One manifold, then another barked, several people backed up, but Sally stood her ground mesmerized by the sound. The F-16 that crashed in the Nevada Test and Training Range on Wednesday morning belonged to the United States Air Force Flight Demonstration Team, more popularly known as the Thunderbirds. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Photo courtesy of the Geico Skytypers Air Show Team. September 26, 1957: 1st Lieutenant Bob Rutte killed during solo training. 26 September 1957: 1st Lt Bob Rutte was killed in solo training at Nellis. The Thunderbirds will flew over Las Vegas to show appreciation and support for the healthcare workers, first responders and other essential personnel who are working on the front lines to combat COVID-19. For the latest news and updates regarding the 2022 and 2023 air show seasons, stay tuned to our website and social media. Nonetheless, the 1982 season was cancelled for the Thunderbirds while they rebuilt the team. The aircraft, a T-38A Talon jet, crashed in an open field about 250 yards short of the south end of the base runway at 3:18 P.M. Heavy smoke could be seen coming from an area . 6, crashed in a field near, 23 June 2017: Capt. INDIAN SPRINGS, Nev. -- The deaths of four pilots of the fame Thunderbirds precision flying team Monday during a practice session at Indian Springs Air Force Base may have resulted from human . Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein were among those who expressed their grief. The crash was the first out of Nellis since Thunderbirds pilot Maj. Stephen Del Bango of Valencia, California, died in April 2018 during a training flight over the Nevada Test and Training Range. The team traveled abroad again in 1996, visiting Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovenia. Major Stephen Del Bagno, an F-16CM pilot assigned to the United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the "Thunderbirds," fatally crashed while engaged in a routine aerial demonstration training flight at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) near Creech AFB, Nevada. Greenville, South Carolina, "Thunderbird Ejection Seat", catastrophic loss during pre-season training, National Museum of the United States Air Force, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, 57th Fighter Weapons (later, 57th Tactical Training; 57th Fighter Weapons; 57th Fighter; 57th) Wing, "Four Air Force Thunderbirds killed in crash", "AFHRA United States Air Force Thunderbirds lineage and history", First woman Thunderbird pilot proud to serve, Major Nicole Malachowski and Major Samantha Weeks, Sequestration measures cancel Thunderbirds' appearances past April 1, List of air show accidents and incidents#1981, "Thunderbird pilot ejects as F-16C crashes at airshow", "Thunderbirds fighter jet crashes in Colorado Springs after flyover at Air Force Academy graduation", "Thunderbird F-16 crashes after Academy graduation; pilot unhurt", "Faulty Throttle Contributed to Thunderbirds Crash: Report", "Blue Angels pilot killed in Tennessee crash", "Excessive speed blamed for Thunderbird crash in Dayton", "19 killed in plane crash in southwest Idaho", "Plane crashes into knoll, taking lives of 19 aboard", "2 Thunderbird fliers killed in rehearsal", "Two aerobatic jets collide, 1 falls, 2 die", "Crash of jet kills narrator for precision flying team", "Thunderbird jet crash kills team's leader", "Air Force identifies Thunderbirds pilot killed in F-16 crash in Nevada", "National Museum of the Air Force FactSheet: Four Horsemen", "Visiting the USAF Thunderbirds Museum at Nellis", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Air_Force_Thunderbirds&oldid=1134782923, 24 September 1961: TSgt John Lesso of the Thunderbirds, 4 June 1972: Major Joe Howard, flying Thunderbird No. The Air Force on Tuesday released the report on the investigation into the April 4 crash at the Nevada Test and Training Range near Nellis Air Force Base. July 27, 1960: Captain J. R. Crane killed during a solo proficiency flight. 9 January 1969: Capt Jack Thurman was killed after a mid-air collision in training north of Nellis; the other F-100D returned safely. The team switched to the F-105 Thunderchief for the 1964 season, but were forced to re-equip with the F-100D after only six airshows due to a catastrophic structural failure of the No. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); What are you waiting for? The top-rated show "Qualifications of Man" did a one-hour feature on the Thunderbirds and resulted from a coordinated media pitch to the network and the Republic of Korea Air Force. Eric Miami Tise, F-16 Instructor/Evaluator Pilot and Assistant Director of Operations, 510th Fighter Squadron, Aviano AB, Italy, Thunderbird 7: Maj. Taylor FLASH Wight, Chief of Advanced Fighter/Bomber Systems Branch, Advanced Programs Division, Pacific Air Force Headquarters, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI, Thunderbird 8: Capt. Nicolas Myers) Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force At the time of the accident he was putting an F-4 aircraft through trial runs on the test. [10], The Thunderbirds switched back to front-line jet fighters after the accident. All rights reserved. 5960. It was the third crash in the past. Additionally, there was also a later USAFE "Acrojets" team in West Germany, this one made up of USAF T-33 Shooting Star instructor pilots at Frstenfeldbruck AB in the mid-1950s. The impact point was only 100 feet higher than the takeoff elevation and 50 feet below the summit of the 300-foot hill. July 2002 - January 2004, Thunderbird Opposing Solo Pilot, Nellis AFB, Nev 12. His footage helped to determine the cause for the AFR 127-4 (the Air Force Regulation covering "Investigating and Reporting US Air Force Mishaps") accident investigation. [2], Officers serve a two-year assignment with the squadron, while enlisted personnel serve three to four years. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The general received training in F-105 Thunderchiefs at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and was assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany, where he flew F-105s from . See the article in its original context from. thunderbird pilot death thunderbird pilot death Home Realizacje i porady Bez kategorii thunderbird pilot death The leader of the Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team died today when his T-38 jet crashed, apparently after it lost power when its engines sucked up several seagulls on takeoff. [4], The four pilots died instantly: Major Norm Lowry, III, leader, 37, of Radford, Virginia; Captain Willie Mays, left wing, 31, of Ripley, Tennessee; Captain Joseph "Pete" Peterson, right wing, 32, of Tuskegee, Alabama; and Captain Mark E. Melancon, slot, 31, of Dallas, Texas. In 2009 the Thunderbirds hired their first-ever Air National Guard pilot, Lt. Col. Derek Routt as Thunderbird No.
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