A friend sent me the Facebook link to the memorial page they created for Eric. It has details on the education fund the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Assoc and the Air Warrior Foundation have helped setup for Dirk and Sarah's daughter.

Eric "Dirk" Ziegler Memorial Page

A 529 Fund has been set up for Dirk's daughter Anna, through the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots. Send contributions to the Air Warrior Courage Foundation (AWCF), P.O. Box 877, Silver Spring, MD 20918. (designate "Capt Ziegler's daughter". The AWCF can be reached by phone at (877) 921-2923, FAX (301) 587-2923 or e-mail: awcf@airwarriorcourage.org

You can make an on-line donation to the Air Warrior Courage Foundation

Pilot blacked out before Nev. crash

Highlights:

Capt. Eric Ziegler, 30, was found leaning forward in his seat in a position consistent with being unconscious.

It was the final training exercise Ziegler needed to complete before he could start the elite Air Force Weapons School. His determination to put on a perfect performance and assure his promotion may have clouded Ziegler’s concentration and contributed to his inability to counteract the gravitational forces, investigators said.

The day before he died, Ziegler learned that his grandfather had died. According to the report, he was so upset that he missed his freeway exit on the drive to work. The death was not a surprise, but Ziegler removed himself from flying for the day because he worried his grief would affect his judgment and concentration. Crash investigators concluded that his emotional state was “a minor factor, at most, for cause of the accident.”

I don't really get this. He was found "leaning forward in his seat" after the crash, or seen by the other F-16 pilot leaning forward before the crash?

I don't really get this. He was found "leaning forward in his seat" after the crash, or seen by the other F-16 pilot leaning forward before the crash?

Steve,

It sounds like his body was intact when they recovered it from the crash. Plus there's a line in the story that later says "Ziegler and the other pilot were on their fourth flight of the mission when the other pilot noticed a bright flash below him. The other pilot tried to communicate with Ziegler, but received no response." That doesn't sound like they were visual with each other prior to the crash.