Fatal Collision over California | NASA F-104 Collides with an XB-70 Bomber (With Real Video)
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- Опубликовано: 19 май 2024
- Find out why a Lockheed F-104N Starfighter operated by NASA collided with an Air Force North American XB-70 Valkyrie over California's high desert near Edwards.
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This video has been recorded and edited in 4K resolution and 60FPS. 
Игры
My father Charles Connally was a flight test photographer working at Edwards at the time of this tragedy. He was not assigned to this flight. But the story from his friends sat gravely in our hearts. I became an aerospace engineer, inspired by these heroes of aviation. Hats off to TFC for this tribute!
cool story bro
I thank you for your family contributions to our Country!
Nice man😅
The remaining XB-70, Valkyrie AV-1 (AF serial number 62-001) is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at the Wright-Patterson AFB. It was flown there on 4 February 1969 following the end of the program. It now sits in the fourth hanger of the museum. An impressive aircraft with so much potential.
And a museum very well worth the visit. So much history there, you need 2-3 days to see everything.
It is a magnificent aircraft and I’m glad it’s finally in the main museum where it belongs. It used to sit outside, then in the annex building where you had to sign up for a bus ride to see it. One of the volunteers told me he was an engineer for the braking system. That was many years ago.
Very cool! Does anyone know what happened to the remaining aircraft from the program?
@@skylined5534 What, exactly are you reading?
@@hordboy I saw it outside there in the 80's . Very impressive to stand next to.
Fun fact: my grandfather designed the engine bay on the XB-70. He was in California when this accident happened.
Actually no our homes are pretty standard in size. His experience with North American Aviation was very pleasant, eventually worked for Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed as well before he retired.
@timtrfny timtrfny ik
Your grandpa must have been a genius.
@@fanofflight200 still is 😃. The last XB-70 is in Ohio and I wanna take him to go see it.
@@Tgamer234 Did you Grandfather ever get to fly in the XB-70??
An incredibly tragic story, well done by TFC retelling it. Seems impressive that aviation went from propeller sub-sonic aircraft to something like the Valkyrie or Blackbird in such little time, simply amazing how fast the technology advanced.
imagine the stealth technology they are developing today… probably so advanced we can’t even imagine it
@@BGTech1 its very easy to imagine. Anti gravity spacecraft are already here
I'm old enough I remember seeing prop planes being used for commercial flights. I remember when this plane (the XB-70) was first shown, and I remember this crash. So, yes, it was amazing seeing the transformation of aviation. I also remember watching Sputnik flying over and the space race that followed. Today's kids take it all for granted, we've always had all the technology as far as they know.
@@Bischlarbo69 I believe they had that back in the 1950s
@@BGTech1 oh ok I thought you were alluding to fixed wing aircraft. Yeah I would imagine that the spacecraft available now can do anything. Bend space time, create their own gravity fields....maybe even give the pilot a lil blowey on the ride home, who knows
Joe Walker was a friend of my father when he was a NASA test pilot. I remember him as a wonderful gentleman with a kind smile who my mother always welcomed into our home in LA.
My dad was also a pilot. When the accident occurred it was a somber time in our home for several weeks. Joe was loved, respected and admired. A genuine astronaut after flying the X-15,
he would always be sorely missed. Men like him were truly rare in stature and in character. He was the definition of "The Right Stuff"!
I’m so sorry for that 😞 may his soul Rest In Peace
Thank you
@Lemickey My Dad is Elvis Presley
reading thru this comment i couldnt help but be reminded of that book
@@scott8908 My Dad is Me
Heads up TFT, the caption for the T38A shows when you show the F4B, and vice versa
This
Yeah.
True
The reason I spotted this too was because I built a model a model of the F4 when I was a child, over 40 years ago. An incredible video thank you so much.
And they call this "TheFlightChannel"???
The History Guy has a really good episode about this incident. Beautiful plane, and the ejection pods are a really interesting piece of engineering. The way he tells it, the plane went into a violent spin and the co-pilot was forced up against the controls, and with the way the ejection seats work - you're fired backwards into a pod designed to protect the pilots ejecting at supersonic speeds - the forces were too strong to slingshot him back into the pod, so he went down with the plane. The pilot who made it got his arm broken as the door of his pod closed.
Thank for that info... I really wondered if they only had 1 ejection seat or something. I mean it was built/designed in the late 50's.
Thanks for mentioning why the co-pilot was unable to escape. I'm not familiar with the designs and functioning of most ejection seats, especially those that allow more than one person to escape. From what you reported of the co-pilot being forced up against the controls, ejection seats were designed to prevent that situation. Without an ejection seat, a pilot trying to leave an airplane to parachute to safety without mechanical assistance, would be forced up against the controls and held in place by G-forces. Ejection seats were invented to prevent this, so I wonder if there were TWO EJECTION SEATS in this aircraft or only ONE? These two aircraft were being used as test aircraft, which often have a single ejection seat. Was the use of TWO PILOTS in this case because of the formations for the photo op?
It's not that I don't trust most accident investigations and reports, but from experience, I don't completely trust most accident investigations and reports.
I still wonder about flight 800, JFK's "Magic Bullet", the "Official 9/11 Report", debunked before it was published, and many more.
The public rarely gets "news" that makes our government or large corporations look bad. Facts are often misreported or omitted. Pilots, especially dead pilots, are blamed too often for failures of aircraft that result from corporate cost-saving measures.
So, I'm just wondering about the ejection seat(s) situation in this instance, where the co-pilot was unable to escape, when he should have been blown clear of the disabled aircraft, the G-forces, the air pressure, the controls, with the pilot who did escape.
Did the co-pilot have an ejection seat too?
Surly the pilot is fully strapped in?, why would he be forced against the controls?, i would of thought the harness would be pretty restrictive to stop such an issue?
They had a capsule each, but it's not entirely clear why the system didn't work for the co-pilot. I remembered incorrectly about him being up against the controls (I might have been thinking of the Gary Powers U2 crash, or something else entirely) but for whatever reason the action to fire him backwards didn't work.
The History Guy explains the ejection from 12:55 onwards in this video: ruclips.net/video/EDze-NIz3Qs/видео.html
@@LethalJizzle Thanks. I'll take a look as it makes no sense. Why did one seat work and the other didn't?
As soon as the video said the XB-70 started to deviate from the straight path, my brain started to scream, EJECT, EJECT, EJECT, and it's not MY life that's at stake. I think one of the accompanying pilots from the formation actually DID SCREAM, "EJECT, EJECT, EJECT".
Wouldn't both pilots have tried to eject at the same time? These were the TOP TEST PILOTS. Would one have tried to wait a few extra seconds in an attempt to control the aircraft? The best are often those who go the extra mile. Could that have been a fatal flaw in this case?
You know the best part of your channel? The attention to detail. The way the picture is positioned a bit below to give space for text, the way you transition between different aircraft during the introduction is so charming
Hmm, see above.
The attention to detail ? , please be real. can not tell a trainer aircraft from one of the best fighters in the sky.
With digital video it would be very easy to fix this mistake, why is it left up this way. I see this alot on utube. Nobody corrects mistakes in video, makes me wonder who edits them.
Where did you learn to type puppers?
LOL
Great command of English too!
attention to detail would be putting the right text to the correct aircraft.. the F4 and T38 are mixed up
And, uh, the XB-70 was cancelled in 1961? Try 1971, AFTER the 1966
collision, lol.
I expect a lot better from the Flight Channel.
When I was mad into aviation as a kid growing up, I loved what Joe Walker had done especially his test flights on the X-15. Rip to Joe Walker and Carl Cross.
Loved what he done? You mean killing himself, another pilot, and destroying two aircraft?
im 66 and loved that stuff. it was big news then. those guys were my first heros. loved the x-15. dont think they come with buckskin balls anymore.
@William Wilson he also saved millions with the research done with his test flights to help make modern aviation into what it is today.
You must be a very sad person lol. Hope life gets better..
Did you become a test pilot!?
Wtf, bruh man😢
Omg that Valkyrie jet just looks so beautiful!👍
Yep, she's a keeper 😍🛩
Never seen it before watching this video. What a beautiful aircraft. You can see where the Concorde got its DNA.
This story impacted me since I was a child. I was enthralled by the beauty and technical advancements of the XB-70.
Thanks, TFC guy. Thanks forever
Same here, El Comodoro. In 4th grade, classmates would even bring me XB-70 pictures and articles they'd found. I was a true nerd for this bird.
Me too. I even had a model of the XB-70. I was 8 in 1966.
Did they destroy/scrap the last XB-70? If not is the public allowed to see it? Something about this plane makes it the coolest I've ever seen, it looks futuristic even in 2021, and the 6 turbojets in a row, how badass can you get? I want to see this plane in person.
@@JohnDoeWasntTaken It's at the Air Force Museum.
May the airmen on both aircraft Rest In Peace.
I had never heard of the B-58 being in the area, thanks for the video. Come see the last XB-70 in Dayton, Ohio. Pictures do it no justice.
Nobody flying prototypes of nuclear bombers should ever be allowed to rest in peace.
Agreed!
The XB 70 is monstrously big.
Kinda wish the testing was during my time at Edwards AFB.
TONS of cool/unique testing went on there. When I was stationed there, the Space Shuttle landed 9 times!
The first 2 or 3 were amazing. After that though it became a major PITA. Looky loos from all over the country/planet.
Best landing? 4JUL83. (Even with the 12 hour shifts.) President Reagan attended as did an estimated 1 million people! An absolute ocean of human beings...
@@eriedawg I’ve known of this crash for several decades, but, like you, never heard of the B-58 playing a part in this horrific tragedy. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve visited to USAF museum in Dayton. Probably the greatest aircraft museum in the US.
@@ynemey1243 I don't think they'd wish to anyway. Rest in glorious, dangerous fire
the XB-70 is such a magnificent aircraft, I've heard of this accident many times but haven't seen a crash investigation about it, thanks TFC for making this video :D
SR-71 is better.
@@brucelee4996 yes, the SR-71 as a reconnaissance bird but don't forget the YF 12a and its counterparts for combat.
Seeing this just breaks my heart. The lost of pilots and the plane.
It's so sad. I cried. RIP to the two pilots
Both planes were designed to kill - and yes, kill innocent people!
@@rossbrown6641 And your point?
@@rossbrown6641 Reported for racist attacks.
He has no point. (Other than proving to everyone he's a D*CK...)
Keeping the free world safe through technology means NOTHING to him.
Question for him - What have YOU done to make the world a better place?
Negative comments on RUclips don't benefit anyone. Jerkweed.
As a kid growing up, The Husband/Father next door was a retired USAF Pilot. I was showing him a model F-104 I was working on. He said that the F-104 was the most unsafe plane he ever flew!
Yeah, it had a rather mixed image in Germany as well. In one year, I think it was 1965, 26 planes were lost. Over the years it acquired the nickname Widowmaker.
Q: "How do you acquire a Starfighter?"
A: "Buy a plot of land and wait."
- German joke
Germany had a terrible track record with the F-104 because they were using it for low-altitude missions. They couldn't afford more than one model, and what they wanted was a supersonic multi-role aircraft, and Lockheed convinced the officials (Who probably didn't know any better) to choose the Starfighter. A high-altitude interceptor that was fucking terrible at low-altitude and ground-attack. Crashes ensued, and proved that Lockheed has been doing Lockheed things since the goddamn 50s.
The Canadians had similarly bad experiences with the Starfighter, and dubbed it "Aluminium Death Tube" and "The Lawn Dart".
@@VolkerBee What exactly was the reason it was so unsafe?
@@watershed44 Very small wings meant that it only flew well (stable) at high speeds. At slow speeds lift and control were marginal. In case of engine failure it glided like a brick.
@@Vincent_Sullivan Thanks for the response!
Imagine the speed and pressure going from that height to ground impact within 2 minutes. Absolutely terrifying.
Here's a little calibration for your terrified mind: A skydiver falling from the same height would have taken that _same_ 2 minutes. _NOW_ can you "imagine" the terrifying speed and pressure?
I was in the USAF's tech school at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Miss. within a month of graduation when this happened. I will never forget that sad day when we heard about the crash. Excellent work bringing this tragic event to life. Didn't know about the involvement of the B-58, another of my favorite aircraft. I like delta winged aircraft.
@Gage 2k6: I've seen this video countless times but it's the first time that I've heard about the involvement of the B-58..
Sonic booms cracked the plaster inside my folks old house during training runs on the radar sight in Bay Shore,Michigan. You’d be playing outside and it scared the crap out of you.
Gage 2k5 - I was in ADC during the time of F-102s and 106s. Delta wings are pretty cool!
@@vondumozze738 I remember this incident like it was yesterday. I worked at WPAFB for five years and have seen the remaining aircraft many times. This was the first time I had heard of the B-58 being "involved." I always wondered how Walker could have made such an egregious error. F-104's didn't have the best cockpit visibility.
Hello from Gulfport! (DHS at SSC)
Just to note: Minor error with the text when listing off the planes involved, the Talon is labelled as an F-4. Otherwise, great job recreating a harrowing collision with software that doesn't allow for depictions of such.
But yeesh, I'd heard about this one from The History Guy, and a few other sources, and it's a tragedy. Two people dead for what was basically GE's vanity.
5:13
GE is one of those companies that don't pay taxes.
shoulda just said the heck with all the flying n done the photo shoot on the ground. not worth it.
I too caught the mis-labeled Talon. Still a great video of a tragic "photoshoot".
@@Doones51 you're talking about the biggest jet engine manufacturer that is also subsidized by the U.S. Government
Been waiting for this one for a while! Great work as usual!
Yoooo ur here
Beautiful aircraft.
Hey Mr Michigan flag, I'm from there
Just as I am watching a Flight Channel video, this pops up in my notifications 👍👍👍
This was put together so well man!!! Your content just keeps getting better and better. Love your work!
RIP Joe Walker. First American civilian to space, one of the best of the best.
But incompetent in this instance. He caused the crash.
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Human error has nothing to do with incompetence ... you'd know that if you were anything but a keyboard commando in your momma's basement. Joe Walker was one of the most 'competent' aviators who ever lived. We're tired of your Shit, Fk-off ...
These videos are amazing and give so much depth to these tragic situations.
Wow this is a classic. I know this story well because im a massive xb70 fan. Thanks for the video!
Is the xb70 on display anywhere or was it scrapped?
@@glenpierce777 Wright-Patterson AFB
Well, since you're a fan of The White Maiden, then I suggest you go out, and try to find the Warbird Tech book about her, and also get the excellent book from Specialty Press that goes into a really deep look at her, as well.
Saw the XB-70 in the late 60s or early 70s in an aircraft museum when I was a young pup. I had never seen anything like it and was absolutely floored. I still think it's the most beautiful aircraft I've ever seen.
It’s amazing how aviation took a quantum leap after Yeager broke the sound barrier. I find the X-15 program particularly fascinating
I had similar thoughts. The XB-70 still looks like something out of sci-fi and was designed in the 1950s, just a decade after WWII. Pretty wild when you really reflect on it.
It was kind of funny that they crept up slowly on the sound barrier and experienced the terrible instabilities in flight control response....then Yeager discovered once past it...Plane flew like normal again....Fantastic era....Brave men as Tom Wolfe said....they had The Right Stuff.
Yeager was a real pioneer.
@@ericbrandt829 Sadly we don't have these types of people in this day and age.
@@Suisfonia and never will.
Thanks for telling this tragic, historic, and important story. The people involved with cutting edge aviation; design, production, testing, flying have our utmost respect. A bit confusing is the repeated image such as is used when cameras are oriented in portrait-style selfies. But the important thing is that we never lose sight of the sacrifices made by those who were lost and by their loved ones.
I've seen the surviving XB-70 prototype in Dayton. It's just huge!
Proof that even the best pilots can make fatal mistakes
No one’s perfect
I did the same thing a couple years ago while driving my car. Planes are far less forgiving.
@@JasonFlorida ikr? I was driving at about 20mph in traffic in town the other day, accelerating into another lane to turn right, and so I was looking at that lane. I don't know what made me glance back at the car in front of me which had also been accelerating forwards but he had stopped dead, and I narrowly avoided hitting him. I managed to clear his rear bumper by inches. Not a particularly exciting story as I was moving relatively slowly, but I was still surprised at how quickly the situation changed when I wasn't playing attention. If that's what it's like at 25 -30 mph, god help these guys.
Wonder if he was a best, planes are bigger than cars and lanes are further.... He knew that giant plane was next too him.
@@marcleblanc3602 It was finger trouble, pure and simple -- and, though I'm a bit sad it had to be me -- someone ought say so. A government employee in a pilot costume took a perfectly fine aircraft and drove it into another perfectly fine aircraft and, thus, destroyed them both.
So sad that this happened and one pilot wasn’t able to eject, overall just tragic
I'm gonna be that guy
Technically two of the three pilots involved were unable to eject. The 104s pilot had no chance, the 70s pilots both probably had a chance early on, but, well we do be human after all.
i swear i can spend my days and nights watching your videos i love how you recreate every crash its so immersive
The production value just keeps getting better, can't believe you were able to get such specific aircraft in a simulator and then re-enact so many at a time.
I am looking forward for more of these stories. I am learning a great deal about aircraft through your videos and I'd be happy to know more about military planes as well. 🥰✈️
'White ejected from the XB-70, sustaining serious injuries, including one arm being crushed as it was caught in the clamshell-like escape capsule as it closed around him just before ejection from the aircraft.' - Wikipedia
@timtrfny timtrfny well, bad construction. But in the end, better waste your arm than your life, right (or left)?
Sadly ejection system injuries are pretty common. But that ain't too bad when the other outcome is death.
Trying to return a soft squishy human from a diving M0.7 metal cage without injury is near impossible
The Valkyrie needed those pods to protect people from ejecting at supersonic speeds.
And yeah, as Bland Wolf said, injuries from ejection systems are common, you're basically sitting on an incredibly powerful, fast-moving rocket engine with minimal protection, and a broken arm or leg is generally small potatoes when the alternative is spending your last few moments in a metal coffin streaking towards the ground like a comet.
I guess that's why that ejection system design wasn't used in subsequent aircraft.
@@Dennis-vh8tz Actually they still do. Just that they're improved from the 60s
Very well done, TFC - and kudos for getting the great historical footage too! 👏🏻👏🏻
What a unique and strange design of that Valkyrie. Especially when on the ground, it almost looks alien.
Not sure why it stood so tall.
Learning plenty on the technical aspects of aviation (through these videos), I feel like a pilot in training lol
RIP to those perished!
timtrfny timtrfny me toooo!! 🚀
😁
To fly, a thousand things have to go right.
To crash only one thing has to go wrong.
wrong, its way more than 1000 and way morw than 1 thing to go wrong
There are more airplanes in the ocean than submarines in the sky.
@@EazyDuz18 oops what was I thinking!..my bad!
Ok here you go;
To fly, a million things have to go right" but to crash only seven hundred and forty two things have to go wrong.
There...better now!
@@monadking2761 for the win !
@@blakjack3053 still incorrect
It's worth the effort to see the remaining XB-70 at Wright-Patterson AFB Museum in Dayton, OH. It is a huge but elegant aircraft, a real masterpiece of engineering.
I saw this one on another fight channel. So glad you were able to do it!
That's a Romulan Warbird right there.
(The Valkyrie)
Well, the weird part is that this video was the first ever to work well on 4K on my terrible Internet
Gotta give a thanks for that TheFlightChannel
the second XB70 is on permanent display at the USAF museum in Dayton Ohio. it is well worth the visit!
My dad was a flights engineer for Rockwell on the B70 when this occurred. Pilots were close personnel friends of his. He was devastated.
Not to nitpick but at 5:56 it shows an F4-Phantom but says it's a T-38. At 6:04 it shows a T-38 but says it's an F4-Phantom.
Yeah, sounds like a typical episode of "the Six Million Dollar Man"...as long as "the plane" (3 planes used) is SILVER no one will notice! Or "scramble the Hornets" and you see F-15 Eagles instead because they also have two vertical stabilizers, but not slanted!
Lov ur vids man great job have been wathing u since the start
Whats the song at the end its beautiful !! And the whole video is amazing ! Nice job. I think with Concorde and the Blackbird, these are the queens of speed and beauty.
These videos are unimaginably good. Great work and thank you!
While in the Air Force, I visited the Air Force Museam at Wright-Patterson in Ohio alot, and loved the XB-70. Like the Tacit Blue/stealth places, and the SR-71, its one of the most amazing and unique planes.
Amazing videography. Thank you for so accurately and respectfully telling the story of this truly tragic crash. Excellent job. I was 11 years old in 1966 and remember playing in the backyard as sonic booms went off overhead. Interesting to see the type of plane generating that unmistakable sound.
I am so glad I found this channel. Interesting content, great music, amazing animation. This has become the channel I look forward to most. Thank you for your hard work.
Right. I only watch it on my 50 inch TV. The visual effects are wonderful.
My all-time favorite plane…thanks so much for doing this!
Surprise to see how you recreate the scenes, impressed with the editing!
And what about that B-58? Why was it in the vicinity flying toward the XB's group? Did they try to warn it off? Who authorized it to be there? Inquiring minds wanna know...
Nice!
Not expecting to see you drop this but this is epic
I’m saddened by this story and even though it happen way back in 1966, it still affect me that two such promising airmen passed away from it. MGBY both. 😇
What an impressive looking bomber. Remember being at Duxford and seeing a Vulcan looked like a giant bat and what a sound, amazing aircraft.
@dražen g lovely story, it's a wonderful place. Also saw a B52 there, what an enormous aircraft. 👍
@dražen g I think your right there was a prototype of Concorde. Your bicycle story made me smile. 😃
@dražen g that’s story made me chuckle 😂
This might be a stupid comment....but was nobody in radio contact with everyone? Nobody saw Walker drifting over too close to the XB-70? Nobody said "Watch out!"
I wondered that too.
Not a stupid comment at all. The only plane which could properly watch the situation was the civil Learjet.....maybe it could not communicate with military aircraft??
The YF-4A was on Walkers’ 5 or 6 o’clock…certainly he could see everything developing and should have alerted Walker one thinks.
man, i was reading another story about this crash. in this video the 'blame' is on Walker, but on the website the 'blame' was on this photoshoot program. they also included radio dialogues.
according to the website they told Walker to get closer and closer to be a good spot for picture, while Walker being uncomfortable by these requests but eventually he followed them and got too close to the xb70 monster
@@alacubalena78 Sounds very realistic to me. To get that shot, people died.
What a beautiful aircraft was XB-70!
I was at WPAFB when the remaining XB 70 was retired to the museum. Got to see it fly in and land.
Amazing quality and editing. RIP to those involved.
I remember seeing the original video a while back - one of the sadder accidents I’ve seen. Even more so when you realize lives were lost. The whole thing feels so detached for a bit, until you hear the names.
FOR REAL!
Everything you have produced is MOST excellent!!!
TYVM for this video and the and the "real" capture photos and video sure make this event clearer in my mind as I have not a whit about the normal descriptions you have done.
Impressive video, thanks for all your work.
The XB-70 is such a beautiful aircraft, only comparable in my opinion to Concorde. Both way ahead of their time.
So sad to lose two distinguished pilots, my heart goes out to their families.
It is my dream to go to the Dayton, Ohio museum and see the surviving XB-70, it's on my bucket list...
A few seconds of being distracted causes a tragedy. What a terrible day for all, when this should have been a day of celebration.
Celebrating what? How planes that cost billions can kill?
@@rossbrown6641 What an odd response.
In the early '70's I got to actually touch the remaining XB-70 at Wright Patterson AFB, at the Air Force Museum. The first time you see it, you just can't believe something that huge could get up to Mach 3. Thanks for posting this video, and awakening some fond memories.👍 Very sad to think of that tragic accident and the loss of life that day.
You really are the best channel. Thank you. RIP all deceased x
I always feel guilty 'liking' these videos. Lets just say you do a wonderful job telling these stories with respect to the lives lost.
I never get emotional watching TFC videos, then this comes along.
My husband was a NASA research test pilot for 10 years. So many successes are first written in blood.
Awesome effort , literally got goosebumps.
Very tragic the F-104 pilot was totally to blame as he got distracted and did not keep his station allowing
his plane to impact the XB-70.
The reason for the flight was so GE could get photos of their engines. The day prior to the flight the ops Sgt stated to 2 Col.'s that Walker was not signed off for his place in the formation. The Col.'s said put him up there anyways. Moments before the crash Walker stated on the radio for the record that his aircraft was unstable and he did not feel safe, probably from the vector of the XB70
If this is true the AF did a cover up to safe the 2 col.'s asses.
That's how it appears, but, really he probably thought he had enough distance to the XB, but the invisible vortex sucked him in.
@@zorro70066 The classic "dog and pony show".
i couldn't imagine that your unaware that your plane is about to hit another one until the thud sound
I've done some projects up in the high dessert, and even though it's either hot af or windy and cold, it's just such a historic place that 4 wheeling around in government Ford Expedition (Eddie Bauer edition) is tons of fun.
Military was able to learn a lot from this accident....good video!!
Pay attention at all times, even when you're walking across the street and when you're flying a plane in a V formation at 500 MPH.
M O T I V E S I O N
@Stephen Beck-von-Peccoz And 300 mph is dangerously slow for a 104.
@Stephen Beck-von-Peccoz Okay.
@Stephen Beck-von-Peccoz A real Navy airmen would never comment with such disrespect …you are no representation of this countries military.
The catalyst of this tragedy seems to be the unexpected arrival of another aircraft in the immediate area of the original formation! I would love to know the ‘W’s of this late arrival! Who, When, Why and What was it doing intruding on their airspace! This doesn’t make any sense!! More Blood and Treasure lost for no good reason! Thanks TFC for another outstanding presentation...
Was thinking the same thing. No mention of it in the report. Just tragic!!
The crash would probably still have happened anyway. The pilot of the Starfighter was incompetent.
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Thanx for your professional insight, Troll! Go play on the freeway ... FkWad! ^v^
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Your expertise is ?
@@taproom113 The Twinkle guy is a prat but vulgar putdowns are not a cool way to answer him. The sad fact is that Jo Walker made a fatal mistake...... we don't know why..... and that should be recognized. As well as why the Valkyrie pilots were not aware of all the planes positionings, and why the photo plane didn't intercede..... and undocumented tales of an encroaching B 52, smacks of making up excuses ( or was it undocumented to save the B52's blushes?)
Really great musical score---never pushy or manipulative but accenting and setting the right tone for the story.
It seems obvious that the real reason for the collision was not the lack of depth perception cues, but the fact that Walker took his eyes off the Valkyrie to look for that other airplane, and drifted into it. It's true, I've never done formation flying, but I have had former military pilots for flight instructors, and they say the same thing: when you're in formation with a leading aircraft, you do not take your eyes off it. You count on the pilot of that airplane to watch where you're going, and you just follow him.
yeah like the 6 blue angel pilots who augered into the desert north of vegas all following the lead pilot who drove them straight into the ground
@@dethray1000 that was the thunderbirds
My ambition is to be a pilot and I'm learning not to mistakes from the videos this guy posts
Everyone makes mistakes. If you want to be a pilot you must realize that.
The tv show, Mayday, could help too.
Air Crash Investigation and May Day help us too.
@@keaton7636 I have watched the whole series of air crash investigation
@@sairams8879 yikes! Same me bro and i love about airplane too and research about all Air Crash. Btw keep it up bro and hope ur ambition comes true 😁
RIP guys
I love the old ones you make this was great editing nice old colour footage...
Saw it at Wright Patterson museum. It is amazing! It was outside then, but I think it is inside now.
Thanks for this video! XB-70 is the most beautiful aeroplane ever designed. It has been one of my favourites since I was a little kid in the 60's.
With the best training and ability, human error calls the shots
The real problem here was the person deciding they should fly in formation like that in the first place.
Don't ask me why, but it was this incident that made my father lie about his age when he was 17 to get into the Army. As soon as he could, he transferred to the Air Force. Never could get the reason out of him. Until my mom gave me some hazy details. Seeing this now brings that all back and answered burning questions. But also brought on more unanswerable questions.
This was an excellent presentation. I'd like to see you do the 1977 New York Helicopter crash at the Pan Am Building. Keep up the great work!
On a side note, Erich Hartmann, the world record holder for the most air to air kills as a fighter pilot, achieved primarily in the ME 109, during WW2....was quietly retired while serving in the new West German Air Force....because he was highly critical of the F-104 Starfighter that was being used by the new Luftwaffe and taking a high toll of new pilots due to its difficulty in landing with its narrow tri-cycle landing gear and rather fast needed landing speeds.
hence being nicknamed "the Widowmaker." I can never remember its actual name, but I always remember the Widowmaker. its reputation precedes it.
Canada retired their Widowma- I mean, Starfighter fleet decades ago, but the plane still has an odd legacy here. there's one on display at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa (the same museum housing the remaining pieces of the Avro Arrow), and many (ok, 2 that I'm aware of) have been gutted & erected as monuments, including one out front of the Aviation Museum in Hamilton
@@ideitbawxproductions1880 However, this has nothing to do with this accident, because the F 104 was pulled over it by the wake turbulence of the B 70 in a strong suction. This was underestimated by the pilot of the F 104. Today, large passenger aircraft are therefore required to maintain a distance of at least 5000 feet from the jet flying in front.
@@hansstopfer878 I never said the nickname had anything to do with this accident. OP was talking about the F-104 causing accidents in general, and I simply acknowledged that fact. I didn't even mention the XB-70 once. your comment is making me confused
@@ideitbawxproductions1880 In this accident, the F 104 was even less sensitive to air turbulence and had a more stable flight attitude than other types of aircraft because it had a smaller wing area. During its introduction, the F 104 was a very complex weapon system that did not forgive any mistakes. After a longer period of flight experience, the number of accidents was comparable, or even lower, than that of other jets.
@@hansstopfer878 cool beans 👍 didn't stop the nickname, though
It seems some nicknames for the F 104 were: the widow maker, the flying coffin, the aluminium death tube, the missile with a man in it.
It was very touchy to fly, i read that many times, instability was a serious problem and many pilots died in training; different generation of engineers. They sacrificed stability for speed then, without the technology today in the F-35 and F-22.
Here's two more nicknames for the 104: Hooter; which is what the RNLAF called it because the sound generated by the exhaust nozzle shifting positions, and Zipper; a name given to it by USAF F-4 crews flying HVCAP for the EC-121's orbiting just off the coast of Vietnam, because the F-104's flew escort for the 'Connies, but due the very short legs of the 104, F-4Cs in turn had escort those fighters. This second nickname was given to that fighter, since it could climb so fast, but run low on gas afterword.
The XB 70 is one magnificent piece of airplane for sure. Saw the one at Wright - Patt and it is just amazing.
I saw one of the remaining XB-70's at the Museum of the Air Force at Wright - Patterson AFB back around 1978. It is a HUGE Airframe!
Man I always thought this plane never had any accidents like this, what a tragedy. RIP to the men who lost their lives.
This is a great video! My only nit is that the XB-70 involved in the collision was tail number 20207 not 20001. 20001 is on display in the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH.
@Chris Stokes
20207 is an area code in Washington DC...coincidence? Weird.
Yes, the full serial numbers for the two XB-70's are as follows: Ship-1, AF 62-0001, and Ship-2, AF 62-0207.
@@johnosbourn4312 I almost forgot that 20001 area code covers the capitol itself. Interesting.
Maybe things are different, but years ago, when I downloaded most of my MSFS planes, the only freeware B-70 I could find was of the 1st plane. I guess the person who made this video had the same problem.
Oh i surely addicted to this beacuse of these graphics and explanation
Got the F-4 and T-38 mixed up at 5:50. I really enjoy these videos though, keep them coming.
Too close for their own good, without a second team to monitor them to ensure safety.
Must be Microsoft Flight Simulator...no crash dynamics.
yeah, and? x-plane doesn't really have one either, so idk what you're trying to say here...?
No, it’s P3D
Arguably one of the most spectacular aircraft ever built.
You got the Talon and the F4 mixed up. However, not a big deal and thank you for sharing. I’ve done a lot of research on this flight and you did a great job.
You mismatched the captions for T-38 and F-4