An Air Combat Command accident investigation into the April 5, 2006 crash of an F-16CJ Viper from the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, S.C., finds that the pilot was suffering from physical fatigue generated by flying five high-g sorties in three days and from mental stress due to his upgrade training. Those two conditions engendered gravity-induced loss of consciousness (GLOC). Upon recovering from GLOC, the pilot found his aircraft in an unrecoverable dive, according to an ACC statement. The pilot, Capt. Ted Schultz, ejected, suffering “serious injuries during the high-speed ejection,” and the fighter crashed into the ocean. (We reported earlier that the injuries included two broken legs.)
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show of force following the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian interpreter by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.
