Sit in the many, many rows where both you and they can’t recline and the problem is solved.
Reclining (or not) is a net zero
It’s net zero collectively. It’s not net zero individually.
Individually it’s a net positive
;o)
From the above link, I followed an imbedded link to an article about the 2018 fatal crash of another Thunderbird F-16. That article reported that the pilot experienced 8.56Gs before losing consciousness. I can understand someone blacking out from over 8 Gs. My question is: Is that an unusually high load? Are Thunderbird and Blue Angel pilots routinely pulling over 8Gs?
Bonus question: I know the Blue Angels don’t wear G-suits. Do the Thunderbirds?
Huh. I did not know that, and I never noticed. From AI overview:
No, the Blue Angels do not wear G-suits because they would interfere with their ability to perform their precise maneuvers and fly in tight formation. Instead, the pilots use a combination of elite physical fitness, specialized training to handle high-G forces, and muscle control techniques like “Hook breathing” to manage the effects of G-forces.
Also from AI:
Unlike the “Blue Angels” during the airshows, the “Thunderbirds” pilots do employ “G”-suits.
The F-16 is famously capable of pulling 9G. Sustained for a decent timeframe if you start fast.
General Dynamics used to make a 9G commemorative lapel pin we got awarded as a right of psssage during F-16 school. I still have mine. 9Gs fucking suck as a peak experience. But it is a peak experience.
Whether Thunderbirds or Blue Angels, I doubt that the diamond formation ever plans on that much. More like 5G tops. The solos do some hairpin turns that might well hit 9 briefly.
Somebody doing a last-ditch ground avoidance maneuver would pull all the jet can do. Which will be 9 if they’re fast enough. So >~300 knots.
I can’t speak to G-suits on the demo teams either in my era or now. The suits of that era increase your ultimate tolerance by 2-3G. Their real value is in reducing the fatigue of sustained lesser G loads.
I can’t even imagine 9 G’s. My vision starts narrowing at 3.
Preliminary report is at:
https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/201981/pdf
Note:
A few seconds later, the controller instructed the pilot to continue the turn to a 120° heading, but by this time the airplane had already descended to about 3,100 ft. With no response from the pilot, the controller transmitted, “November zero hotel golf, climbing?” Heavy breathing and “grunting” sounds could then be heard, and by that time the airplane had descended to about 1,500 ft and reached an airspeed of about 270 kts. The last ADS-B target was recorded a few seconds later, about 200 ft west and 350 ft above the impact location.
This sounds like it could this be a medical emergency: heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, or aortic dissection, etc.
Another explanation might be some sort of pitch control jam or trim runaway where the pilot is pulling on the yoke for all they’re worth trying to arrest the pitchover. But no such luck. Crunch!
270KIAS is in the same ballpark as Vne. I don’t have the exact value to hand, but it’s near there one way or the other. The only thing that prevented them from getting a lot faster than that was hitting the ground first.
I note from the report they were IMC during the turn. Which opens the possibility of a spatial disorientation or instrument malfunction and by the time they dove out the bottom of the clouds they were screwed.
Evidently much of the cargo wasn’t well secured. The single heaviest item was, but not the rest. Perhaps spatial D leads to a steep descent, leads to cargo shift forward leads to both the pilot & seat getting whacked and maybe jammed forward against the yoke, plus loss of pitch authority due to out of range CG. Now the pilot is pulling like mad and getting no results. Crunch!
Other than maybe finding a FOD jam in the empennage or whether there were major engine or prop malfunctions, I rather doubt NTSB or us are going to learn much more about this accident.