Ward. Don't worry about the trolls. You are as professional and objective as it gets on RUclips. We all appreciate your take. As a former army aviator, I find this channel as good as it gets. Kudos for what you do.
I totally agree, as a retired USAF D.I., Enlisted Air Battle Manager & Maintainer, CDR Carroll is my go-to for military related incidents. He cuts through the flak (no pun intended) and gives a “just the facts” assessment. While also offering plausible, objective and responsible theories.
@@SSGTStryker "Just the facts, ma'am." I'm being a bit of a wiseapple here but I agree, facts and some reasonable theory with a disclaimer, and without all the fluff.
I was a adan during my time and I have the most of the info, yeah they might have the plane but they don't know what brought it down and that is the only thing that's holding up the process, you don't want the pilot going down for this, give them time to dig and will know adan Michael Myers
When the pilot said “aircraft failure”, that sounded like a basic explanation to a non military 911 operator that was safe to say without compromising military information.
As a Air Force Veteran and aerospace propulsion specialist I want to thank you for your service and your expertise helping everyone understand what happened as best you know. Much Respect to you.
As a fellow retired military pilot I appreciate your reports. I think the Marine Corps could put some basic information out that can stop most of the questions and speculation. You always do a great job.
Mr. Carroll, thank you standing fast to your commitment to full disclosure. Civilians like me have limited or nor access to military related activities, especially those related to mishaps.
My son is a retired Commander 'Prowler' and 'Growler' driver. On his 'Nugget' tour in 2003 flying the 'Prowler.' Forward deployed in the Northern Pacific off the Kitty Hawk with VAQ-136. His 'Prowler took a lightening strike on the refueling probe. When his Mom and I talked with him later by phone. He told us he was petrified. Fortunately. there were no system failures. He regained his composer and got his Prowler back to the boat for a safe trap. Keep up the good work by your timely and professional analysis!. Don't be concerned about the naysayers and critics who have no professional experience! Semper Fi!
Glad to hear your wife is mending, Mooch! Thanks for giving us civilians the skinny on military aviation. And this most recent odd event. Enjoying your books too!
Hey Mooch...good day. Glad the wife is doing ok. Broke my ankle my senior year of HS. Joined DEP before accident happened ( was going in the Marines). So after the incident, I put myself through college ( two year degree), went through seven recruiters and was finally cleared MEPS and on the path of service.
Ward you look a little upset. Don't worry about the trash talkers. Thank you for your very informed content , your unique background is what makes you a credible educated source of information. Keep up the good work
Your factual and level headed discussion has done much to offset the wild speculations and uniformed discussions taking place. I am glad you are doing this. I agree the USMC needs to step forward and address this.
Everybody, go find the full audio of the phone call and listen VERY carefully. You will hear the pilot on the phone with presumably someone at his unit and you can hear him say 'I don't know what happened, everything failed.'
Ward, please ignore those trolls, don't go down that rabbit hole. Stay on your point. As a non-aviator but have always had an interest in aviation, I really enjoy all of your insights to the aviation world. Great job!
@ Ward Carroll, I live in the North Charleston area and was running errands when the storm blew through. We didn't get a lot of warning of the storm and it was a blackout situation with the storm. Visibility was poor even for driving a car, I can't imagine trying to fly a jet especially if they had a display malfunction.
You are doing an excellent job. Maintaining the public trust is essential for the military and your observations are legitimate. I had to strike the same balance in my time aboard ship and PAO was just a collateral duty for me at the time. Keep up the good work.
Great news about your wife Ward! I heard that 911 call a day or two ago. That 911 operator must have been a trainee. They are trained for anything, and in this one, she lost her composure. She was right about having to stick to the script, but she thought the caller was insane... until the pilot got on the phone!
It is a highly unusual call, I know a dispatcher that didn't flinch from the calls at Ohio State Fair and I know of a few who paused briefly to recognize the situation they're being told. Some of those centers depending on size and funding the call taker may also be the dispatcher and if they're also dispatching multiple agencies the mental flowchart can be daunting at first. What was first a medical call is it ALS or BLS? Then there's a plane involved, now the FAA, State police, Sheriff, Local EMA, State EMA, and of course the fire departments. On top of the number of prank calls that places like these get on a daily basis. In my state, people call the patrol about the road conditions when it snows and then ask if they should drive or not so they can tell their boss they can't make it.
So I was a manager in Phoenix when the 9-11 incident happened, my secretary absolutely refused to believe what happened live on TV right before her eyes. Whereas I knew exactly what was happening as soon as I heard it on the radio (the first crash), which is why I turned the TV on and we watched the second crash together. Remember ten years before that what happened?
@@tedmossMost people were never aware of the bomb in the parking garage. Not that it wasn't all over the news-it most definitely was-but it wasn't exactly something that kept people's attention at the time. Besides, the garage bombing was in February of '93, not September of '91.
@defresurrection For me this does not sound like a trainee. A trainee would probably done better. This sound like a woman "set in her way". I once had to cal "911" due to a mountain accident. I obviously got a fresh operator. AND he was very good and professional. Fifteen-twenty minute later it was obvious he had got a "wise" and "experienced" operator breathing down his neck. And what followed was two or three hours with crap. -- I was even accused of being in a different part of the country than I was in. Two or three different cases -- real and a national exercise was held in my neighbouring county. In both/all of the cases "911" failed miserably. And it was not due to any trainees. -- As I have heard, it was due to "experienced" and "wise" operators set in their way.
This was a good episode, Commander. For what it’s worth from a former PA NCO, I think you did a good job of dealing with what data was available rather than fall into the natural desire to speculate, extrapolate, and misstate. Well done, sir. Thank you. 🤙🏼
All the best for a speedy recovery for your bride. I broke my tribulations, fibula and ankle on Xmas eve. I was told it could take 18 months. I went from wheelchair, to walker to cane fairly rapidly and my surgeon was shocked how quickly his work was healing. Been back in the gym for about four months now. The initial rehab kind of sucks but in retrospect it went by fast. Tell her to take lots of vitamin D, best for bone healing!
20 year additional duty Safety officer and accident investigator here. I don't see anything you discuss on any of these videos you make to in any way be negative towards any investigation in progress. You merely pose questions based on known facts, and attempt to present any known "what" and "how" in terms of the accident sequence, without being over-speculative about the "why", and leaving that for the investigators to determine. I find your presentation style of to be informative and seeking of facts in these mishaps, both in the initial stage, as well as updated with new information that gets learned. Keep up the fine presentation style.
That’s a very expensive hole in the ground! Thank God nobody got hurt this time. I’m from San Diego, and I remember the F-18 that went down in a residential neighborhood back in ‘08 while trying to reach Miramar.
Mooch, you are one the most factual people i watch relating to aviation. As we all know there are always the “we know best” crowd. While annoying I’m sure you will handle with the confidence grace and humility that you have shown for the past couple years since I have started watching. Thank you for what you do
Full credit to you sir- you have become my goto resource for this type of no-nonsense information. Wasn't going to believe anything until I saw it on your channel. Thanks for all the hard work that you've put into growing your channel for my benefit lol.
The biggest takeaway besides the altitude was the sound in his voice when he asked about any airplane crashes reported. You can feel his concern as he asked the operator. That has to be a bad feeling when you eject over a populated area. One thing about the aircraft traveling for 60+ miles after the pilot ejected, that'd actually be a good thing in a wartime environment as the pilot wouldn't be near the crash site so hopefully, they'd have a better chance at E&E. Maybe that could be a software feature to be used in a wartime situation. One question is where did the wingman land?
Why do you defend yourself against these “trolls?” We love the knowledge and insight that you bring to the wanna be fighter pilots like myself. Just keep being you Mooch
I definitely don’t think you have said anything wrong in these videos. You are always logical and thoughtful. This IS a bizarre situation. I really look forward to finding out more.
Whoever the 911 operator was, was clearly shook up about that particular call, but sticking to the script was not going to help anybody cause they obviously do not have a script for a "military jet crash" or a "pilot ejection" situation. He gave her the info he could give her that was pertinent to him. 47 yo male, just chucked a 2 billion dollar jet and it kept going cause he did not know the crash location. And he hung up, cause she clearly wasn't getting it, that he was ok except minor cuts and a hurt back. I can garuantee you, he's not "very cool" about it, cause he just likely ended his career in spectacular fashion, though he stayed upright and wings level about it (aka he's not a "typical" jet chucker who loses his shit on a whim) aka "The Great Santini". So what do we know? Standby: Mooch will give us the skinny when he gets it. Right now, he doesn't know anything more than we already know.
Ward, I appreciate the careful and professional manner you have in dealing with situations like these. None of us were in that cockpit that day, in the middle of a serious and disorienting storm, possibly blinded by lightning and losing systems. That pilot and any other that serve in our military put their butts on the line every day to protect us, and my hat is off to all of them.
For the record, about twenty years ago, we had already started updating the USAF’s fleet of F-16s flight control computers/flight control systems to be able to recognize when the pilot is no longer in control of the airplane and return it to level flight. The F-35 almost certainly has this feature (as the Test Pilot friend said). If I’m not mistaken, the F-35B is the only fighter plane in our inventory that also has an automatic pilot eject system. This may be something to take into consideration.
From an old tugboat guy who operates on the slow side of things, the presence of analog gauges and information systems always supplied a good sense of redundancy. I’m sure space is hard to come by in the cockpit but dang.
Ward, I appreciate your considered analysis and perspective. We're all asking the same questions and trying to make sense of this. It's all we can do given the lack of USMC public statements. It's always sad to see an aircraft or aircrew lost. Let's be thankful no one was seriously injured or killed.
Hey Ward, glad your wife is well , so let me wish her the best recovery. Now back to the subject, don’t forget the F35B it’s also operated by Italian Navy same as the A version by the Air Force. Thank you for your nice work. Ciao from an Italian pilot 😉
Ward, anyone criticizing your handling of this developing situation and in any way even trying to imply you are hampering some sort of official investigation after one of the only official or semi-official statements on this incident from anybody in the department of defense was that inane Twitter post about helping me find my lost jet really needs to evaluate their own cognitive dissonance. Keep up the exceptional work
Ward, I am a retired Air Force Air Traffic Controller. Years ago, due to an incident, the AF fighter world adopted the process of having the wingman squawk a general code. Example, the lead a/c squawking 4612, the wingman would squawk 4600. This would aid in ATCs ability to locate all a/c of the formation. I'm a little stunned the Navy/USMC has not adopted this proceedure yet. It would have helped with direction finding of the lost a/c. Also, was a MAYDAY call made over guard frequency?
You are an honest broker of liaising information from the military community to the public. It's not your responsibility to withhold information from your channel if it is otherwise available in the wild. It's unfortunate the PAO's aren't being (or allowed to be) more proactive with their messaging... the old adage applies - get ahead of the story or BECOME the story.
Not honest. His intel on Ukraine is cocontradicted by the basic osint observable facts on the ground... often in real time. He absolutely knows better. He did it anyway. That kinda crap gives the entire military a black eye. He's out, so he can no longer say he's just following orders. He's definitely compromised in some way. However, I'm not ready to write him off yet. It's just gross.
12:09 it sounds like the 911 call center isn’t familiar with this particular contingency. Usually they have a cheat sheet of calls, motor vehicle accidents, domestic violence, etc. A pilot ejecting from a military plane is unusual. I feel bad for the pilot, worst day of his life, but I’m glad he’s not seriously injured.
The internet abhors an information vacuum. It's much better to have presenters like you informing the public what is and is not known than allowing those who speculate wildly to dominate the discourse. And while you have been good about distinguishing plausible hypotheses from established fact, it always helps to be explicit when presenting hypothetical explanations. Thanks so much for all your hard work in putting these videos together, I really appreciate and enjoy your channel. -Ed
When asked about how many people were injured, the Pilot actually said "I am the only one, I am not sure about my wingman" ....this would suggest he has a reason to at least wonder if his wingman was ok. Maybe he was hit by lightning and was not sure if his wingman was also hit? Could they have collided and he has no idea if his wingman carried on or also ejected?
He's just answering the question factually. He has no idea, so he says so. That's the way people tend to respond to questions on the worst days of their lives.
I’m amazed that he parachuted safely either in the middle of a severe thunderstorm and a squall line or one very close by. There must’ve been some serious wind in the area.
As a nonmilitary pilot with instrument rating, it looks like the glass went dead, but the brain may have continued operating. Ward is very wise to not jump the gun on anything. This is new technology that requires a glass cockpit but debugging all of the failure modes is hard work. I am also a life long software expert. This stuff can be fun, but it can be hard. Having a failure in 0-0 weather is way more than an inconvenience. This may have been an expensive incident, but no life was lost and hopefully a lot can be learned. Personally this taught me how hazardous formation flying is. I'd heard before that only the lead plane squalks a transponder code, but if it goes down, then the other plane becomes invisible, and if the lead plane really had gone uncontrollable, how does the wingman get out of its way (and the way of the ejecting pilot). Yes, a 20 degree turn is called for, but is that enough?
Thank you for continuing to provide context about this and other events where you can help those of us who know nothing about military aviation to stay somewhat connected to what’s going on. Ignore the trolls (like you typically do), and keep up the great work. I am just one of MANY who greatly appreciate your content and perspective.
Fascinating case and you provide excellent coverage and explanation based of the little tidbits known so far. The puzzle will continue to be assembled. The public does need a full accounting.
Ward, former enlisted nuke electrician here. Airplanes and the talk were extremely outside my scope and I still enjoy the channel immensely. Keep up the straight talk. EEO3 EEO4 Load Dispatchers ruled the world lol.
Well done, Ward! As always. I follow you because I trust how you handle information. Keep up the good work and ignore the idiots who think they know more.
Ward, could the Marine Corps have feigned ignorance early on concerning the location of the crash to effect a clean up and search/retrieval of classified F-35 materials? I doubt they would want to publicly publish the location of the site fearing scavenging of F-35 material by none military persons.
@peetky8645 Apparently the word aliens isn't in the English vocabulary! It thought, even provided a link, to translate to English. When challenged, it "Turned a Whiter Shade of Pale*" *Procol Harum orchestral version, w/Gary as lead, absolutely wearin' that piano out! An all time favorite. Big bad tunes with a big bad orchestra in a big time set. RIP Gary
As a subscriber let me tell you that I consider you to be an invaluable and informed link about understanding the history, personnel, and current events that surround military aviation. You are miles ahead of what we hear from the community of commercial journalists. So I'm just saying thanks for your great work and expressing deep confidence in your personal standards for reportage. You are a unique resource, keep doing what you are doing. In a complicated world we need voices such as yours.
Ward, I've been in a car that got struck by lightning. That was a heck of an experience. I understand your extensive military training gives you some insight to what what is expected to happen, what should happen, and what typically happens. Those insights are what makes your discussion so darn interesting. BUT this was an accident. All you have is your education, your training, and your experience. BUT you weren't there. You told us what you expected would happen. As the details come out you share again. That's what we like about your channel. And yes, that downed pilot was cool as a cucumber. If I was answering those silly questions there would have been more colorful answers. Are you bleeding? I don't know, I can't see myself. That was funny...
Even more hilarious was the pilot's response on being asked how far he'd fallen, a question better suited to someone who'd fallen off a ladder. His calm reply was "2,000 feet." And that is unfortunately one of the few facts about this mishap that have come out thus far. It took place low.
Of course you're going to be talking to Rick Beato. I look forward to seeing some of that. Thanks for keeping us up to date on what info is available on these incidents.
Thank You Ward, if anything we know you can be trusted with information. Thanks for the fact that they did not and you at least covered the ground that was already let out they should appreciate that for what you did. You were able to keep the thing from kind of going off the rails and it was really good information that should keep people from settling for unbelievable content
I didn't know parachutes were ok in torrential rain (and wind?). I would not enjoy training for that! First visit to you here. Thank you for all this additional knowledge.
Agreed. The Marines do owe the public a basic explanation. A simple statement of “We have an ongoing investigation to the incident and will provide more information when we are able.” would have been sufficient. But here we are… wondering.
Thank you for the update. Would be so easy for the Marines to say something simple that they could develop later. You are doing fine. I appreciate how you don't overspeculate and withhold judgment. It's all something to be learned from.
CDR, I think you are providing fair, balanced, and responsible info and insight. A remarkable 911 call indeed. A real testament to the pilots professionalism.
It's not unheard of for aircraft to continue flying a fair distance after bail out. Even in stick and pedal biplane days there are stories of aircraft flying off after the pilot bailed out and ending up a fair way away.
While info sketchy right now I just want to say proud of our military aviators and glad no loss of life this incident. Hopefully all will learn from this and safe flying in the future
"SIGMET" is an abbreviation for "Significant Meteorological" conditions. ( I didn't make it up, I just had to study it). It is an alert to bad weather, storms, Icing, fog, mountain obscuration and turbulence. SIGMETS are put out by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). SIGMET's are specific to pilots. But anyone can use NOAA sources. There are other notifications put out by NOAA, but Ward specifically mentioned SIGMETs.
It's nothing new. If an infantry grunt talks about their time in combat on YT the pimple-poppers who've only played Call of Duty will tell them they're wrong in the comments. Dunning-Kruger effect on full display.
I'm a big mil aviation fan, DCS/MSFS gamer, former CAP member, and brand new 911 operator. We've been discussing ALL WEEK how the hell we would EMD code this event in ProQA. Love it! She's under the 17 card.
Thanks for doing this, Mr. Carroll. There has been so much misinformation out there about this so it's good to see someone clearing things up for people.
Ward. Don't worry about the trolls. You are as professional and objective as it gets on RUclips.
We all appreciate your take.
As a former army aviator, I find this channel as good as it gets. Kudos for what you do.
Exactly, you always got that 3% clown population that are looking for any reason to be a problem.
😅
I totally agree, as a retired USAF D.I., Enlisted Air Battle Manager & Maintainer, CDR Carroll is my go-to for military related incidents. He cuts through the flak (no pun intended) and gives a “just the facts” assessment. While also offering plausible, objective and responsible theories.
@@SSGTStryker
"Just the facts, ma'am." I'm being a bit of a wiseapple here but I agree, facts and some reasonable theory with a disclaimer, and without all the fluff.
I was a adan during my time and I have the most of the info, yeah they might have the plane but they don't know what brought it down and that is the only thing that's holding up the process, you don't want the pilot going down for this, give them time to dig and will know adan Michael Myers
When the pilot said “aircraft failure”, that sounded like a basic explanation to a non military 911 operator that was safe to say without compromising military information.
Yep.
@@WardCarroll Works for me.
Dispatcher "Did the airplane spit you out and run off with a flock of Grackles?" Pilot "I think so"
She is directed to run her checklists... not unlike aircrew
What is remarkable is how well you walk on egg shells . Good job Ward . Only you can give us believable information. Thank you.
AMEN!
Absolutely, I never would want to compromise US military secrets for the sake of watching a cool video.
As a Air Force Veteran and aerospace propulsion specialist I want to thank you for your service and your expertise helping everyone understand what happened as best you know. Much Respect to you.
You are not speculating, you are getting info out to the public. You are doing right Ward, thank you!
As a fellow retired military pilot I appreciate your reports. I think the Marine Corps could put some basic information out that can stop most of the questions and speculation. You always do a great job.
Look at my comment above, may explain the radio silence.
Mr. Carroll, thank you standing fast to your commitment to full disclosure. Civilians like me have limited or nor access to military related activities, especially those related to mishaps.
My son is a retired Commander 'Prowler' and 'Growler' driver. On his 'Nugget' tour in 2003 flying the 'Prowler.' Forward deployed in the Northern Pacific off the Kitty Hawk with VAQ-136. His 'Prowler took a lightening strike on the refueling probe. When his Mom and I talked with him later by phone. He told us he was petrified. Fortunately. there were no system failures. He regained his composer and got his Prowler back to the boat for a safe trap. Keep up the good work by your timely and professional analysis!. Don't be concerned about the naysayers and critics who have no professional experience!
Semper Fi!
Surprised Dispatcher didn't start asking for missing vehicle information!!
Ward, don't let the bastards get you down. We all appreciate what you do. Don't question yourself, or feel you have to defend yourself.
Glad to hear your wife is mending, Mooch! Thanks for giving us civilians the skinny on military aviation. And this most recent odd event. Enjoying your books too!
Hey Mooch...good day. Glad the wife is doing ok. Broke my ankle my senior year of HS. Joined DEP before accident happened ( was going in the Marines). So after the incident, I put myself through college ( two year degree), went through seven recruiters and was finally cleared MEPS and on the path of service.
I would and will trust a discussion from you, Mr. Carroll, a lot more than from ANY news outlet.
Well, he has certainly explained the joke about the F-35 which rolled out of the hangar and disappeared.
Would have loved to hear the phone conversation when the farmer called when a F-106 landed itself in his cornfield after the pilot ejected
Ward you look a little upset. Don't worry about the trash talkers. Thank you for your very informed content , your unique background is what makes you a credible educated source of information. Keep up the good work
The lightning II is susceptible to lightning? Ouch. Glad nobody got killed. Thanks Ward.
Your factual and level headed discussion has done much to offset the wild speculations and uniformed discussions taking place. I am glad you are doing this. I agree the USMC needs to step forward and address this.
Yeah well, the Marines are notorious for keeping secrets and secure information. Look at the Camp Lejeune water issues just as an example.
I don't know what any trolls have said, but your integrity and professionalism are beyond question.
Glad to hear that your wife had a successful surgery and on her way to recovery.
Thank you for doing such an outstanding job,
The F-35 punch out at 2,000 feet demonstrates the MIG-23 backseater's decision to immediately eject at 250 feet to be 100% correct.
Everybody, go find the full audio of the phone call and listen VERY carefully. You will hear the pilot on the phone with presumably someone at his unit and you can hear him say 'I don't know what happened, everything failed.'
Ward, please ignore those trolls, don't go down that rabbit hole. Stay on your point. As a non-aviator but have always had an interest in aviation, I really enjoy all of your insights to the aviation world. Great job!
@ Ward Carroll, I live in the North Charleston area and was running errands when the storm blew through. We didn't get a lot of warning of the storm and it was a blackout situation with the storm. Visibility was poor even for driving a car, I can't imagine trying to fly a jet especially if they had a display malfunction.
You are doing a great job describing a difficult situation with the little information that is out there. Never stop doing what you are doing.
You are doing an excellent job. Maintaining the public trust is essential for the military and your observations are legitimate. I had to strike the same balance in my time aboard ship and PAO was just a collateral duty for me at the time. Keep up the good work.
I am so glad you head off these conspiracies that knuckleheads want to push. Your 20 yrs of experience is a valuable asset! Thanks Ward
Great news about your wife Ward!
I heard that 911 call a day or two ago. That 911 operator must have been a trainee. They are trained for anything, and in this one, she lost her composure. She was right about having to stick to the script, but she thought the caller was insane... until the pilot got on the phone!
She was a dope.
It is a highly unusual call, I know a dispatcher that didn't flinch from the calls at Ohio State Fair and I know of a few who paused briefly to recognize the situation they're being told. Some of those centers depending on size and funding the call taker may also be the dispatcher and if they're also dispatching multiple agencies the mental flowchart can be daunting at first. What was first a medical call is it ALS or BLS? Then there's a plane involved, now the FAA, State police, Sheriff, Local EMA, State EMA, and of course the fire departments. On top of the number of prank calls that places like these get on a daily basis. In my state, people call the patrol about the road conditions when it snows and then ask if they should drive or not so they can tell their boss they can't make it.
So I was a manager in Phoenix when the 9-11 incident happened, my secretary absolutely refused to believe what happened live on TV right before her eyes. Whereas I knew exactly what was happening as soon as I heard it on the radio (the first crash), which is why I turned the TV on and we watched the second crash together. Remember ten years before that what happened?
@@tedmossMost people were never aware of the bomb in the parking garage. Not that it wasn't all over the news-it most definitely was-but it wasn't exactly something that kept people's attention at the time. Besides, the garage bombing was in February of '93, not September of '91.
@defresurrection For me this does not sound like a trainee. A trainee would probably done better. This sound like a woman "set in her way".
I once had to cal "911" due to a mountain accident. I obviously got a fresh operator. AND he was very good and professional. Fifteen-twenty minute later it was obvious he had got a "wise" and "experienced" operator breathing down his neck. And what followed was two or three hours with crap. -- I was even accused of being in a different part of the country than I was in.
Two or three different cases -- real and a national exercise was held in my neighbouring county. In both/all of the cases "911" failed miserably. And it was not due to any trainees. -- As I have heard, it was due to "experienced" and "wise" operators set in their way.
This was a good episode, Commander. For what it’s worth from a former PA NCO, I think you did a good job of dealing with what data was available rather than fall into the natural desire to speculate, extrapolate, and misstate. Well done, sir. Thank you. 🤙🏼
All the best for a speedy recovery for your bride. I broke my tribulations, fibula and ankle on Xmas eve. I was told it could take 18 months. I went from wheelchair, to walker to cane fairly rapidly and my surgeon was shocked how quickly his work was healing. Been back in the gym for about four months now. The initial rehab kind of sucks but in retrospect it went by fast. Tell her to take lots of vitamin D, best for bone healing!
20 year additional duty Safety officer and accident investigator here. I don't see anything you discuss on any of these videos you make to in any way be negative towards any investigation in progress. You merely pose questions based on known facts, and attempt to present any known "what" and "how" in terms of the accident sequence, without being over-speculative about the "why", and leaving that for the investigators to determine. I find your presentation style of to be informative and seeking of facts in these mishaps, both in the initial stage, as well as updated with new information that gets learned. Keep up the fine presentation style.
I wish your wife a speedy recovery. You are doing the best you can given the absence of any real info on this mishap.
Riding that chute down in that weather would’ve been a nightmare.
Glad she is doing so well Mooch. Saw your interview with AIRLANT during your visit to Oceana. Brought back a lot of fond memories. Thanks for that.
That’s a very expensive hole in the ground! Thank God nobody got hurt this time. I’m from San Diego, and I remember the F-18 that went down in a residential neighborhood back in ‘08 while trying to reach Miramar.
Mooch, you are one the most factual people i watch relating to aviation. As we all know there are always the “we know best” crowd. While annoying I’m sure you will handle with the confidence grace and humility that you have shown for the past couple years since I have started watching. Thank you for what you do
Full credit to you sir- you have become my goto resource for this type of no-nonsense information. Wasn't going to believe anything until I saw it on your channel.
Thanks for all the hard work that you've put into growing your channel for my benefit lol.
The biggest takeaway besides the altitude was the sound in his voice when he asked about any airplane crashes reported. You can feel his concern as he asked the operator. That has to be a bad feeling when you eject over a populated area. One thing about the aircraft traveling for 60+ miles after the pilot ejected, that'd actually be a good thing in a wartime environment as the pilot wouldn't be near the crash site so hopefully, they'd have a better chance at E&E. Maybe that could be a software feature to be used in a wartime situation. One question is where did the wingman land?
Why do you defend yourself against these “trolls?” We love the knowledge and insight that you bring to the wanna be fighter pilots like myself. Just keep being you Mooch
I definitely don’t think you have said anything wrong in these videos. You are always logical and thoughtful.
This IS a bizarre situation. I really look forward to finding out more.
I agree - everyone else is speculating wildly - Ward Carroll sticks to the facts - I always appreciate that about his videos.
Who is speculating wildly? All I see on the internet is TV news reports - no surprise that they are speculating wildly.@@safetymikeengland
Whoever the 911 operator was, was clearly shook up about that particular call, but sticking to the script was not going to help anybody cause they obviously do not have a script for a "military jet crash" or a "pilot ejection" situation.
He gave her the info he could give her that was pertinent to him.
47 yo male, just chucked a 2 billion dollar jet and it kept going cause he did not know the crash location. And he hung up, cause she clearly wasn't getting it, that he was ok except minor cuts and a hurt back.
I can garuantee you, he's not "very cool" about it, cause he just likely ended his career in spectacular fashion, though he stayed upright and wings level about it (aka he's not a "typical" jet chucker who loses his shit on a whim) aka "The Great Santini".
So what do we know? Standby: Mooch will give us the skinny when he gets it. Right now, he doesn't know anything more than we already know.
Ward, I appreciate the careful and professional manner you have in dealing with situations like these. None of us were in that cockpit that day, in the middle of a serious and disorienting storm, possibly blinded by lightning and losing systems. That pilot and any other that serve in our military put their butts on the line every day to protect us, and my hat is off to all of them.
For the record, about twenty years ago, we had already started updating the USAF’s fleet of F-16s flight control computers/flight control systems to be able to recognize when the pilot is no longer in control of the airplane and return it to level flight. The F-35 almost certainly has this feature (as the Test Pilot friend said). If I’m not mistaken, the F-35B is the only fighter plane in our inventory that also has an automatic pilot eject system. This may be something to take into consideration.
From an old tugboat guy who operates on the slow side of things, the presence of analog gauges and information systems always supplied a good sense of redundancy. I’m sure space is hard to come by in the cockpit but dang.
The weather situation at the time of the ejection is the key to this entire incident.
Maybe birdstrike, if you’re that low and you over wetlands I would not be surprised at all to find a goose was involved
Glad Carrie's surgery went well Ward!
Best Regards.
Ward, I appreciate your constant effort to remain fair and objective within the context of the experience and knowledge you bring to the subject.
Hey Mooch, glad your wife is healing well! Thanks for creating such a great community- it’s a model for the country’s discourse
Ward, I appreciate your considered analysis and perspective. We're all asking the same questions and trying to make sense of this. It's all we can do given the lack of USMC public statements. It's always sad to see an aircraft or aircrew lost. Let's be thankful no one was seriously injured or killed.
Hey Ward, glad your wife is well , so let me wish her the best recovery. Now back to the subject, don’t forget the F35B it’s also operated by Italian Navy same as the A version by the Air Force. Thank you for your nice work.
Ciao from an Italian pilot 😉
Ward, anyone criticizing your handling of this developing situation and in any way even trying to imply you are hampering some sort of official investigation after one of the only official or semi-official statements on this incident from anybody in the department of defense was that inane Twitter post about helping me find my lost jet really needs to evaluate their own cognitive dissonance.
Keep up the exceptional work
Ward, I am a retired Air Force Air Traffic Controller. Years ago, due to an incident, the AF fighter world adopted the process of having the wingman squawk a general code. Example, the lead a/c squawking 4612, the wingman would squawk 4600. This would aid in ATCs ability to locate all a/c of the formation. I'm a little stunned the Navy/USMC has not adopted this proceedure yet. It would have helped with direction finding of the lost a/c. Also, was a MAYDAY call made over guard frequency?
Good question. I've heard nothing about that, not to mention the ELT chirp on Guard.
You are an honest broker of liaising information from the military community to the public. It's not your responsibility to withhold information from your channel if it is otherwise available in the wild. It's unfortunate the PAO's aren't being (or allowed to be) more proactive with their messaging... the old adage applies - get ahead of the story or BECOME the story.
Not honest. His intel on Ukraine is cocontradicted by the basic osint observable facts on the ground... often in real time. He absolutely knows better. He did it anyway. That kinda crap gives the entire military a black eye. He's out, so he can no longer say he's just following orders. He's definitely compromised in some way. However, I'm not ready to write him off yet. It's just gross.
12:09 it sounds like the 911 call center isn’t familiar with this particular contingency.
Usually they have a cheat sheet of calls, motor vehicle accidents, domestic violence, etc.
A pilot ejecting from a military plane is unusual.
I feel bad for the pilot, worst day of his life, but I’m glad he’s not seriously injured.
The internet abhors an information vacuum. It's much better to have presenters like you informing the public what is and is not known than allowing those who speculate wildly to dominate the discourse.
And while you have been good about distinguishing plausible hypotheses from established fact, it always helps to be explicit when presenting hypothetical explanations.
Thanks so much for all your hard work in putting these videos together, I really appreciate and enjoy your channel.
-Ed
Who the hell are these trolls? This is the best aviation channel on youtube. No question about it.
Mentour pilot is an exceptional channel too, for the non military aviation side!
When asked about how many people were injured, the Pilot actually said "I am the only one, I am not sure about my wingman" ....this would suggest he has a reason to at least wonder if his wingman was ok. Maybe he was hit by lightning and was not sure if his wingman was also hit? Could they have collided and he has no idea if his wingman carried on or also ejected?
Yes! I was hoping this would be addressed. It at least suggests the possibility of a collision between the two.
He's just answering the question factually. He has no idea, so he says so. That's the way people tend to respond to questions on the worst days of their lives.
Thanks again Ward.
I’m amazed that he parachuted safely either in the middle of a severe thunderstorm and a squall line or one very close by. There must’ve been some serious wind in the area.
The 911 dispatcher must have been following the “fall” dispatch card, since there’s no dispatch card for “pilot ejection.”
No kidding. There’s a whole other conversation going on in the civilian 911 communications profession.
As a nonmilitary pilot with instrument rating, it looks like the glass went dead, but the brain may have continued operating. Ward is very wise to not jump the gun on anything. This is new technology that requires a glass cockpit but debugging all of the failure modes is hard work. I am also a life long software expert. This stuff can be fun, but it can be hard. Having a failure in 0-0 weather is way more than an inconvenience. This may have been an expensive incident, but no life was lost and hopefully a lot can be learned. Personally this taught me how hazardous formation flying is. I'd heard before that only the lead plane squalks a transponder code, but if it goes down, then the other plane becomes invisible, and if the lead plane really had gone uncontrollable, how does the wingman get out of its way (and the way of the ejecting pilot). Yes, a 20 degree turn is called for, but is that enough?
This is by far the best synopsis and commentary that I've heard on the subject thus far.
Thank you for continuing to provide context about this and other events where you can help those of us who know nothing about military aviation to stay somewhat connected to what’s going on. Ignore the trolls (like you typically do), and keep up the great work. I am just one of MANY who greatly appreciate your content and perspective.
Fascinating case and you provide excellent coverage and explanation based of the little tidbits known so far. The puzzle will continue to be assembled. The public does need a full accounting.
The pilot did a good job describing what happened to him without giving away any classified information after a significant event.
Love your work, Always look forward to hearing your opinion. One of the few voices of reason that one can trust. I appreciate your efforts.
Glad your wife is feeling better. With the weather, it sounds like an exotic set of circumstances. Thank you for the update!
Ward, former enlisted nuke electrician here. Airplanes and the talk were extremely outside my scope and I still enjoy the channel immensely. Keep up the straight talk. EEO3 EEO4 Load Dispatchers ruled the world lol.
Well done, Ward! As always. I follow you because I trust how you handle information. Keep up the good work and ignore the idiots who think they know more.
As a civilian non -pilot, I appreciate your clear, non-hyped fact based approach. I was VERY curious about this greatly appreciate your approach.
Ward, could the Marine Corps have feigned ignorance early on concerning the location of the crash to effect a clean up and search/retrieval of classified F-35 materials?
I doubt they would want to publicly publish the location of the site fearing scavenging of F-35 material by none military persons.
But it's no longer "early on."
This would be hardly likely.
aliens?
Yep aliens
@peetky8645 Apparently the word aliens isn't in the English vocabulary!
It thought, even provided a link, to translate to English. When challenged, it "Turned a Whiter Shade of Pale*"
*Procol Harum orchestral version, w/Gary as lead, absolutely wearin' that piano out! An all time favorite. Big bad tunes with a big bad orchestra in a big time set.
RIP Gary
As a subscriber let me tell you that I consider you to be an invaluable and informed link about understanding the history, personnel, and current events that surround military aviation. You are miles ahead of what we hear from the community of commercial journalists.
So I'm just saying thanks for your great work and expressing deep confidence in your personal standards for reportage.
You are a unique resource, keep doing what you are doing.
In a complicated world we need voices such as yours.
Ward great info, really enjoy your channel. As an aircrew man I have been in some not so fun thunderstorms. Keep up the good work.
Thank You Ward. watching from the UK. Very interesting
Thank you for your coverage of this mishap. I so enjoy your channel Commander:
Ward, Great information and look forward to updates.
Ward, I've been in a car that got struck by lightning. That was a heck of an experience.
I understand your extensive military training gives you some insight to what what is expected to happen, what should happen, and what typically happens. Those insights are what makes your discussion so darn interesting. BUT this was an accident. All you have is your education, your training, and your experience. BUT you weren't there. You told us what you expected would happen. As the details come out you share again. That's what we like about your channel.
And yes, that downed pilot was cool as a cucumber. If I was answering those silly questions there would have been more colorful answers. Are you bleeding? I don't know, I can't see myself. That was funny...
Even more hilarious was the pilot's response on being asked how far he'd fallen, a question better suited to someone who'd fallen off a ladder. His calm reply was "2,000 feet." And that is unfortunately one of the few facts about this mishap that have come out thus far. It took place low.
Of course you're going to be talking to Rick Beato. I look forward to seeing some of that.
Thanks for keeping us up to date on what info is available on these incidents.
Thank You Ward, if anything we know you can be trusted with information. Thanks for the fact that they did not and you at least covered the ground that was already let out they should appreciate that for what you did.
You were able to keep the thing from kind of going off the rails and it was really good information that should keep people from settling for unbelievable content
thank you for clearing things up as much as you do
I didn't know parachutes were ok in torrential rain (and wind?). I would not enjoy training for that!
First visit to you here.
Thank you for all this additional knowledge.
Ward, thank you for your service!! I find you the most reliable source without bias on these issues.
Ward, just keep doing what you are doing. Ignore the arm chair experts.
Thank you for your professionalism. Thank you for the otherwise unheard story of the weather ..
Agreed. The Marines do owe the public a basic explanation. A simple statement of “We have an ongoing investigation to the incident and will provide more information when we are able.” would have been sufficient. But here we are… wondering.
Thank you for the update. Would be so easy for the Marines to say something simple that they could develop later. You are doing fine. I appreciate how you don't overspeculate and withhold judgment. It's all something to be learned from.
Ward, keep up the good work! Love your professionalism !! Thanks for the great content
CDR, I think you are providing fair, balanced, and responsible info and insight. A remarkable 911 call indeed. A real testament to the pilots professionalism.
It's not unheard of for aircraft to continue flying a fair distance after bail out. Even in stick and pedal biplane days there are stories of aircraft flying off after the pilot bailed out and ending up a fair way away.
Your episode today was superbly done.
Thanks, Dan.
Mooch, you have come so far. Im glad I can say I was here early but man I'm stoked to see how far you've come. I want all vets to crush it!
While info sketchy right now I just want to say proud of our military aviators and glad no loss of life this incident. Hopefully all will learn from this and safe flying in the future
Thank you Ward, once again your channel episodes are head and shoulders above all others.
Ward, you do a great job! Do not change anything. CDR Jesse Mackey, USN (Ret) and a Patron.
Thanks for a candid and accountable approach to this issue. Your insights are valuable and appreciated!
"SIGMET" is an abbreviation for "Significant Meteorological" conditions. ( I didn't make it up, I just had to study it). It is an alert to bad weather, storms, Icing, fog, mountain obscuration and turbulence. SIGMETS are put out by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). SIGMET's are specific to pilots. But anyone can use NOAA sources. There are other notifications put out by NOAA, but Ward specifically mentioned SIGMETs.
Ward you are my 1# source for military aviation news and information! Thankyou so much for everything you do! Your a dedicated and amazing individual.
It’s a absolutely insane to me that people can hate on your for this content you are a blessing to aviation fans keep up the great work!
It's nothing new. If an infantry grunt talks about their time in combat on YT the pimple-poppers who've only played Call of Duty will tell them they're wrong in the comments.
Dunning-Kruger effect on full display.
I'm a big mil aviation fan, DCS/MSFS gamer, former CAP member, and brand new 911 operator. We've been discussing ALL WEEK how the hell we would EMD code this event in ProQA. Love it! She's under the 17 card.
You're doing a great job sir, thank you.
Thanks for doing this, Mr. Carroll. There has been so much misinformation out there about this so it's good to see someone clearing things up for people.
The 911 operators follow a script, they just ask the questions they see on the screen. I'm sure they don't have a script for pilot ejection