[DeTomaso] NPT C17 Crash,

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/11/10 11 32 53, gndplne at yahoo.com writes:


> there are no old, bold pilots.  Mikey is the only one here that can give 
> a first-hand analysis, so let's see what he says.
> 

I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to say.   I'm a professional crash 
investigator for the Air Force, although I've never actually had to conduct an 
investigation--thankfully crashes are few and far between.   Recently, I was 
allowed to review the entire findings of the investigation of this crash, and 
subsequently gave a briefing on the details to the rest of my squadron.

It's eye-opening.

One of the amazing things about this investigation is that it's the only 
one anybody can remember that had HD video of the entire accident.   There was 
an Air Force cameraman with a zillion-dollar HD video setup on the catwalk 
on the base control tower, and his job was to film the entire performance 
(they were practicing for an upcoming airshow).   He kept filming even as the 
airplane piled into the ground, and as the fireball grew, he simply pulled 
back on the telephoto to keep the whole thing in-frame.   He didn't say a 
word throughout, nor did the camera jiggle even a tiny bit.   It's probably the 
most professional piece of filmmaking I've ever seen in my life--much 
respect to that guy for keeping his composure.

Mike