# Superhornet crash in one of the best military plane-spotting sites in the world. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956 "2019-07-31T22:20:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/1 "2019-07-31T22:20:00Z")
A F/A-18E SuperHornet from VFA-151, “The Vigilantes”, of Lemoore NAS, [has crashed this morning near the Father Crowley Point or Outlook at Death Valley National Park](https://theaviationist.com/2019/07/31/breaking-reports-of-u-s-navy-f-a-18e-super-hornet-crashed-in-star-wars-canyon/). This is one of the popular places that airplane buffs go to watch military jets traverse the “Jedi” transition between two military aircraft operating areas. It’s also known as “Star Wars Canyon.” If you’ve seen youtube videos of military jets flying in a desert canyon, this is where the videos were taken. I don’t know if the pilot(s) are O.K. but six bystanders have suffered injuries from debris. Which may mean the end of the fun. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/2 "2019-08-01T00:19:12Z")
[AP News says 7 hurt](https://apnews.com/472730134b914427b08062edd08ea68d) in a story they just posted 9 minutes ago. ETA: It doesn’t seem likely to me that the pilot survived or that any remains will be found: > [@](#): > > A jet that was following the downed craft pulled up and began circling, Cassell said. He didn’t see any parachute. > > His father drove up to the area after the crash and saw a large black scorch mark and shattered parts of the jet scattered throughout the area between the parking lot and lookout, Cassell said. A nose cone from the jet was the size of a bowling ball and the rest of the debris was no larger than a ball cap. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/3 "2019-08-01T00:33:33Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [AP News says 7 hurt](https://apnews.com/472730134b914427b08062edd08ea68d) in a story they just posted 9 minutes ago. > > ETA: It doesn’t seem likely to me that the pilot survived or that any remains will be found: Yeah, it’s sounding a bit like the first few pages of The Right Stuff. CFIT, GLOC-caused or not, seems awfully likely. 7 hurt now? I hope none are serious. As risk averse as I’ve read the US military is, I totally can see this being the end of low level flying there, limiting it to the boundaries of the actual gunnery ranges, that sort of thing. My condolences for the injured and the family of the deceased. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/4 "2019-08-01T02:53:03Z")
They updated the AP story to include this: > [@](#): > > Ambulances were sent to the crash site near Father Crowley Overlook, said park spokesman Patrick Taylor. He said initial reports were that seven park visitors had minor injuries. KABC-TV spoke to tourists who said they were treated for minor burns and cuts from flying fragments after the plane crashed and exploded. > > The injured tourists told the news station they were taking photos of the sweeping landscape when the jet screamed into view and suddenly slammed into the canyon wall. ETA: [The KABC-TV site has more](https://abc7.com/navy-f-a-18e-fighter-jet-crashes-in-inyo-county/5433048/): > [@](#): > > Seven people on the ground suffered minor injuries, a spokesperson for Death Valley National Park said. It’s not clear exactly how they were injured. > > The seven who were injured are tourists from France, all members of the same family. They were at an overlook checking out the view of the canyon, and say they didn’t even know the military used the area. > > Most of them suffered nicks, cuts and burns when they were hit with shrapnel from the crash. One member of the group was more seriously injured with burn injuries on her back and was being taken to a Los Angeles-area hospital for treatment. > > “We were in front of the valley and the planes crashed, around 50 meters from us,” said one of the injured tourists. Wow; if they were that close, it’s a wonder they aren’t all dead, deaf and/or burned. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/5 "2019-08-01T03:11:34Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Yeah, it’s sounding a bit like the first few pages of The Right Stuff. CFIT, GLOC-caused or not, seems awfully likely. CFIT = controlled flight into terrain, I guess. But what’s GLOC? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/6 "2019-08-01T03:14:17Z")
G-force induced loss of consciousness. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/7 "2019-08-01T05:12:32Z")
It sounds like they located and evac’ed the pilot, but they’re not discussing his condition. A Search and Rescue helicopter from China Lake came in, and lowered a litter. Another F18 circled above that area until the helicopter arrived. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/8 "2019-08-01T05:15:37Z")
Do you have a link? Stories published/updated as recently as just 2 hours ago aren’t showing this news. And I didn’t see it when I googled just now to see that 2 hours ago was the most recent update. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/9 "2019-08-01T06:08:52Z")
It’s in your first link. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/10 "2019-08-01T06:16:42Z")
Ah, ok: not my first link; the link in the OP. Thanks. They really need to do a re-write on that story; it doesn’t make sense the way they have it written now. I highly doubt he saw the mushroom cloud an immediately saw a helicopter lowering a litter, which is how it reads to me now. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/11 "2019-08-01T06:36:55Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > If you’ve seen youtube videos of military jets flying in a desert canyon, this is where the videos were taken. You’ll never see it on YouTube, but my old man flew an F-86 through The Grand Canyon about 50 feet off the river. They confiscated his gun camera footage and he got a stern dressing down. I bet that was Epic! Every time he told the story, he got lower and faster. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/12 "2019-08-01T10:22:59Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > It sounds like they located and evac’ed the pilot, but they’re not discussing his condition. A Search and Rescue helicopter from China Lake came in, and lowered a litter. Another F18 circled above that area until the helicopter arrived. Was the helo for the pilot, or for the one onlooker that got taken to the hospital? Cynically, I like the account from the injured sightseeing group that, ‘we had no idea this was a spot to watch airplanes’. Why else would you be there? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/13 "2019-08-01T14:09:00Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > If you’ve seen youtube videos of military jets flying in a desert canyon, this is where the videos were taken. Is this where the dog fighting training scenes of TOP GUN (1986) were filmed? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/14 "2019-08-01T14:25:32Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Was the helo for the pilot, or for the one onlooker that got taken to the hospital? I can find no other account of a helicopter lowering a gurney (I just checked again). The latest stories say “Crews are searching for the pilot of a US Navy fighter jet that crashed in Death Valley National Park,” so I’m going to say that no, they haven’t found anything. As I said earlier, I’ll be surprised if they find anything at all, even a piece of bone, given the description of the speed, explosion and resulting debris field. > [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Cynically, I like the account from the injured sightseeing group that, ‘we had no idea this was a spot to watch airplanes’. Why else would you be there? It is a dramatic and beautiful canyon; the Rainbow in the name isn’t without merit. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/15 "2019-08-01T14:30:40Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Why else would you be there? The Panamint Valley is one of the more scenic parts of Death Valley. I don’t know about this particular vista point, but I know on the way out of Death Valley I stopped at a couple points on that highway to get photos of the view back towards Panamint Springs. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/16 "2019-08-01T14:51:14Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Is this where the dog fighting training scenes of TOP GUN (1986) were filmed? No. > **[Top Gun | Filming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gun#Filming)** > > Filming began in Oceanside, California on June 26, 1985, with it later moving to Miramar to begin shooting scenes on the aircraft. The Navy made aircraft and crew from Carrier Air Wing Fifteen (CVW-15) available for the movie, which then consisted of F-14 squadrons VF-51 "Screaming Eagles" (which Mike "Viper" Metcalf mentions in the scene at his home) and VF-111 "Sundowners" (which was referenced by Marcus "Sundown" Williams' callsign and helmet design). Paramount paid as much as US$7,800 > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Most of the sequences of the aircraft maneuvering over land were shot at Naval Air Station Fallon, in Nevada… ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/17 "2019-08-01T14:53:26Z")
The Father Crowley Overlook is at the west side of DVNP, only 40 miles from Lone Pine. gMap — [Google Maps](https://is.gd/32Jc5z) I’ll have to stop and check it out next time. ETA — thanks, **Machine Elf**! ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/18 "2019-08-01T16:20:12Z")
There’s like a bazillion planespotting videos on YouTube featuring fighters roaring through Star Wars Canyon. I’m a bit surprised that this incident wasn’t caught on video. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/19 "2019-08-01T22:12:03Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I can find no other account of a helicopter lowering a gurney (I just checked again). The latest stories say “Crews are searching for the pilot of a US Navy fighter jet that crashed in Death Valley National Park,” so I’m going to say that no, they haven’t found anything. As I said earlier, I’ll be surprised if they find anything at all, even a piece of bone, given the description of the speed, explosion and resulting debris field.It is a dramatic and beautiful canyon; the Rainbow in the name isn’t without merit. The quotes from the, IIRC French tour group that took the brunt of the injuries, read to me like someone was trying to prepare the ground for a negligence, failure of the duty to warn action against the Park Service. ‘We had no idea someone would fly airplanes here! There weren’t any warning signs or anything! We never would have sat on the edge of the canyon if we’d known…etc’ I’m probably paranoid. I have driven that highway before, shortest path from Beatty to the Owens Valley, through Death Valley—at a balmy 121, per the visitor center—and couldn’t wait for the drive to be over. That it was in July, in a car with malfunctioning a/c, probably had a lot to do with it. I’ll take your word for it that people would visit, right there, sans airplanes. I have read elsewhere that the pilot has not been recovered yet. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superhornet-crash-in-one-of-the-best-military-plane-spotting-sites-in-the-world/837956/20 "2019-08-03T15:19:19Z")
> **[Navy Identifies 33-Year-Old Pilot Killed In Death Valley Fighter Jet Crash](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/navy-identifies-pilot-killed-death-valley-fighter-jet-crash/)** > > The Navy confirmed the pilot killed in the crash was 33-year-old Lt. Charles Z. Walker who was assigned to the "Vigilantes" of VFA-151 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. > [@](#): > > The Navy confirmed the pilot killed in the crash was 33-year-old Lt. Charles Z. Walker who was assigned to the “Vigilantes” of VFA-151 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California’s Central Valley. > > A tweet from the official twitter for the U.S. Naval Air Forces wrote, “The NAS Lemoore aviation family is grieving the loss of one of our own,” said CAPT James Bates, Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific. “LT Walker was an incredible naval aviator, husband and son.” > [@](#): > > The U.S. Navy confirmed the death of the pilot just before 12:40 p.m. Thursday saying, “The Navy has confirmed that the pilot of the FA-18E died in the crash. In accordance with DoD policy, the identity of the pilot will be withheld 24 hours. The Navy mourns the loss of one of our own and our thoughts go out to the family and friends affected by this tragedy.” It sounds like the injured civilians are more seriously injured than the initial reports made out: > [@](#): > > “All of them will need to undergo surgery to treat their burn injuries,” Dr. Peter Grossman of the Grossman Burn Center, said. “Some of them are going to start surgery tomorrow morning, and some will wait for a day or two until we take them to the operating room, but it’s very likely that a number of them are going to require skin grafts of their own.” > > Witnesses said the crash caused the plane to explode with plane parts and burning fuel raining down on spectators.