Air Force Thunderbirds pilot dies in aerial demonstration flight in Nevada
A U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot was killed Wednesday morning during flight training in Nevada.
The accident happened when Maj. Stephen Del Bagno's F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed over the Nevada Test and Training Range about 10:30 a.m. during a routine aerial demonstration training flight.
"We are mourning the loss of Major Del Bagno," Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing Commander, stated in a Thursday afternoon Facebook post. "He was an integral part of our team and our hearts are heavy with his loss. We ask everyone to provide his family and friends the space to heal during this difficult time."
Officials are investigating the cause of the crash.
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Two weekends ago, the Thunderbirds headlined the Melbourne Air & Space Show at Orlando Melbourne International Airport. The event was the inaugural show on the Thunderbirds' 2018 schedule.
"We ask that everyone keep the pilot and his family and the Thunderbirds family in their prayers," said Chris Dirato, spokesman of B. Lilley Productions. The Melbourne company, founded by promoter Bryan Lilley, organizes the Melbourne Air & Space Show.
"It's a great bunch of folks, from the pilots to the maintainers and all the officers. They're great representatives of the United States Air Force," Dirato said.
"It's with heavy hearts that we heard the news of the F-16 crashing," he said.
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In light of the accident, the Thunderbirds' upcoming weekend appearance at the March Field Air & Space Expo in Riverside, California, was canceled. Details of how the accident would impact the remainder of the 2018 Thunderbirds season were not available.
Del Bagno was the slot pilot for the Thunderbirds, flying the No. 4 jet. The Valencia, California, resident was in his first season with the team. According to his Thunderbirds biography, he was previously a civilian flight instructor, corporate pilot, skywriter and banner tow pilot. He logged more than 3,500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft, with 1,400 hours as an Air Force pilot.
“No man is an island: We pilots tend to feel the pain of losing one of our brothers and sisters,” said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Ron Davis, Space Coast Warbird Airshow spokesman. He flew KC-130 tankers from 1967-77.
The Thunderbirds headlined the Space Coast Warbird Airshow last March in Titusville. Aircraft are staging for this year’s show, which kicks off Friday at Space Coast Regional Airport.
“They’re flying high-performance aircraft close to the limits of those aircrafts’ capability. That’s why we have been enthralled by them for 65 years," Davis said of the Thunderbirds.
“What may or may not have happened will be looked at very closely, very professionally, by an Air Force accident investigation board. And you want to talk about ‘fine-toothed comb’ — that’s an Air Force accident board,” he said.
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"All I can do is share my appreciation for having met members of the team when they were here three previous occasions, my respect and admiration of them. Our sympathy and our prayers are with them, and particularly for the family of the pilot that was lost yesterday," he said.
West Melbourne resident Jen Rutherford is a preschool teacher at First United Methodist Church in Melbourne. She said Del Bagno chatted for five to 10 minutes with her young sons Hudson, 4, and Carson, 5 — who is “obsessed with flying planes” — during the Melbourne Air & Space Show.
“My 5-year-old asked him if he had to know how to read and write to be a pilot, you know, little-kid questions. He knelt down, and he answered all kinds of questions and showed them a special Thunderbirds handshake,” Rutherford said.
“It was amazing. It made my son’s day. He talks about it all the time,” she said.
B. Lilley Productions has booked the Thunderbirds for its upcoming air shows in Fort Lauderdale on May 5-6; Ocean City, Maryland on June 16-17; and Stewart International Airport in New York on Sept. 15-16.
"We're going to take direction and guidance from the Thunderbirds. Like everyone else, we're going to wait to hear the news from them as to what their future plans are," Dirato said.
Thursday morning, Air Force Maj. John "Rain" Waters piloted an F-16 Fighting Falcon from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina to Titusville. He'll star during the Space Coast Warbird Airshow with the F-16 Viper Demonstration Team.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. The Air Force is a very tight-knit community. Anytime we lose a member of our team, we feel the effects throughout," Waters said, standing on the tarmac next to his fighter jet.
"My heartfelt sorrow goes out to the family. And I wish them the best in this difficult time," he said.
Neale is a South Brevard watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.
Contact Neale at 321-242-3638
or rneale@floridatoday.com.
Twitter: @RickNeale1
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