T-38 down near Edwards

[BigFreddie]

Information from the grapevine - please post if you get any better info...

His Wake will be on 8 and 9 June (Long Island)and the funeral will be on 10 June same location.

His final resting place/burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery with a burial date unknown at this time, and will more than likely be late June.

BF

[HuggyU2]

A bunch of us showed up at his memorial and missing man flyover today at Edwards, in the hangar by TPS.

We got together the night before with a bunch of his old Grand Forks, U-2, and TPS buddies, as well as his fiancee. It was good to talk to all of them.

I hope to make the Arlington event.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Huggyu2

[skinny]

I plan to be in Arlington pending Space-A out of ETAR. I think a lot of people from GFK will be trying to attend as well.

[HiFlyer]

A bunch of us showed up at his memorial and missing man flyover today at Edwards, in the hangar by TPS.

We got together the night before with a bunch of his old Grand Forks, U-2, and TPS buddies, as well as his fiancee. It was good to talk to all of them.

I hope to make the Arlington event.

Huggy, make sure you let me know when the Arlington event is. I'd like to be there if I can.

[Stitch]

Godspeed sir. Thank you for your service to our country. Rest in Peace.

[HuggyU2]

Huggy, make sure you let me know when the Arlington event is. I'd like to be there if I can.

Wilco. They will also post it on http://www.markdashgraziano.com

It hasn't been updated much in the last day or so, but it will be.

Edited May 30, 2009 by Huggyu2

[Spoo]

Graz was laid to rest at Arlington today w/ full honors. There was a KC-135 fly-by and lots of folks from every community he was a part of.

RIP Dash.

[capt4fans]

RIP Dash.

Any news on the investigation?

[Spoo]

RIP Dash.

Any news on the investigation?

SIB is briefing the Chief this week so the report should be available soon.

[capt4fans]

SIB is briefing the Chief this week so the report should be available soon.

Thanks. Just curious. Didn't know Dash, but from what everyone has said, he was sh!t hot and Top Notch.

[Hacker]

SIB is briefing the Chief this week so the report should be available soon.

Check with your Safety office -- there is a little bit of info out as of earlier this week (apparently not the complete SIB, though).

[HuggyU2]

I read the full report last week. It looks pretty complete.

If you fly/flew the T-38, you should read it.

Any my apologies for not posting that today was the burial. I hope you noted it on the website.

[ExBoneOSO]

Thread Revival...public notice of the cause of Graz's crash..for those of us who don't have SIB access.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123172499

10/13/2009 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- An Air Force accident investigation board has determined that a failure in the rudder operating mechanism caused the crash of a T-38 aircraft on a training mission 12 miles north of Edwards AFB, Calif., on May 21, 2009. The report states the failure was most likely due to maintenance issues.

Major Mark Paul Graziano, a student pilot from the U. S. Air Force Test Pilot School, died as a result of that accident. His student navigator, Major Lee Vincent Jones, sustained serious injuries for which he is still undergoing treatment.

The Test Pilot School is a unit within Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. The aircraft, assigned to the test center, was destroyed. Dollar loss was estimated at $6,407,808.

Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, president of the investigation board, said, "The loss of Major Graziano and the injuries to Major Jones are tragic. Both were highly regarded by their peers and superiors. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with them and their families."

In the Air Force Materiel Command AIB report, General Bedke stated, "I find clear and convincing evidence that the cause of this mishap was a failure of the rudder operating mechanism, which disconnected the flight controls from the rudder actuators and caused the rudder to deflect 30 degrees left. This hardover rudder induced an uncontrollable yaw and a resulting roll, causing the aircraft to depart controlled flight. This condition is unrecoverable in the T-38."

The report identified two potential causes for the failure of the rudder operating mechanism. The first is a structural fatigue failure or structural break in a critical component or bolt, the second a maintenance error in which a nut or cotter pin did not properly secure a bolt connecting two critical components. Citing two historical cases of rudder failure, the report concluded that maintenance error was the more likely cause of the rudder failure.

The report stated that "insufficient supervisory oversight and a lack of discipline of the training process" was a factor. Significant discrepancies were noted regarding maintenance procedures and documentation of training. The report said, "In the vast majority of cases, the aircraft maintenance mechanic had likely received appropriate training in the past (almost all civilian employees interviewed testified to having prior military service, most in the Air Force as upper level maintenance mechanics). However, lack of documentation in the training process made verification impossible."

Following approval of the report, experts at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command traveled to Edwards AFB and are reviewing the flight test center's current processes.

To read the executive summary of the AIB report, click here http://www.afmc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-091013-114.doc

[Kuma]

Cheers to DASH. He was a great squadron mate.

[60 driver]

Thanks for posting the update.

Maybe I've been doing this too long, but my first thought was, if I have to die in an airplane, that's about the way I'd want the accident report to read.

DIdn't know you, Dash. Kinda wish I had. Blue skies.

[busdriver]

If I lived in the states I'd go build a potato gun in your honor brother, catch you on the flip side.

[skinny]

If I lived in the states I'd go build a potato gun in your honor brother, catch you on the flip side.

2

Last I heard his bros at Beale were brewing the Dash Special recipe beer.

Edited October 14, 2009 by skinny

[skinny]

I thought it was interesting in this article that they singled out Dash's accident.

Linky

More to come?

Lax maintenance that caused a fatal plane crash could bring another round of firings.

Last spring, not far from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., a T-38 Talon jet flying almost at the speed of sound lunged out of control at 20,000 feet. The pilot and the navigator were students at the Air Force Test Pilot School.

Pilot Maj. Mark Graziano lost consciousness when his helmet smashed into the closed cockpit canopy and went down with the plane. He died. Navigator Maj. Lee Jones managed to eject but suffered serious injuries.

An accident investigation board concluded the jet probably became uncontrollable when a bolt that helps control the tail rudder fell out. Inspections should have spotted the loose bolt, the board’s report said, but investigators couldn’t determine who last inspected the rudder control system because maintenance records were incomplete.

The board faulted “the mid-level leadership and supervisors” of the 412th Maintenance Group but did not specify how many officials it was referring to or whether those in charge were officers, enlisted airmen or civilians.

The managers, the report went on, “conveyed a disturbing lack of understanding of, or concern for, proper training procedures.”

Any disciplinary action would be meted out by the commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center, which oversees the test pilot school. Center officials have had the report since it was released last month but don’t have a timeline for when they will finish their review, center spokesman John Haire said.

In 1995, the Air Force filed charges against two maintainers who had incorrectly installed the flight control rods on an F-15 Eagle that crashed after takeoff from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The pilot, Maj. Donald Lowery, died in the accident.

Tech Sgts. Thomas Mueller and William Campbell faced trial, accused of negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.

Their supporters insisted the maintainers were caught up in the service’s post-Desert Storm drive for accountability and took the Air Force to task for not ensuring the easily made maintenance error was not repeated after similar near-tragedies in 1986 and 1991.

Mueller shot himself to death Oct. 3, 1996, the day of his court-martial. The suicide caused the Air Force to rethink its actions; the charges against Campbell were dropped and he left the service.

Later, the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records concluded the noncommissioned officers had been unfairly singled out.

“In all fairness, how can an enlisted mechanic out in the field be held solely and totally culpable for a problem the Air Force had been aware of for nearly 10 years and done little to rectify,” the board opinion declared.