Incident Fairchild-Republic YA-10A Thunderbolt II 73-1669,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 56119
 
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Date:Thursday 8 June 1978
Time:
Type:Silhouette image of generic A10 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Fairchild-Republic YA-10A Thunderbolt II
Owner/operator:Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC)
Registration: 73-1669
MSN: A10-0006
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:Gunnery Ranges, 17 miles from Edwards AFB, California -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Edwards AFB, California (EDW/KEDW)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
Narrative:
73-1669 was the sixth and final YA-10A pre-production aircraft. Written off when crashed 8 June 1978: During ammunition certification tests by the Joint Test Force, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB, California, Major (later Major General) Francis C. "Rusty" Gideon Jr. in Fairchild-Republic YA-10 Thunderbolt II, 73-1669, c/n A10-0006, call sign Paco 40, makes fourth firing pass of five, 100 rounds per pass, but experiences secondary gun gas ignition in front of the GAU-8 muzzle, causing oxygen starvation of engines necessitating emergency shut-down.

Before he can relight the cooling engines, he runs out of altitude and ejects in Escapac ejection seat at 2,000 feet AGL, suffering severe injuries including a broken neck. Aircraft impacts on desert floor, 17 miles from Edwards AFB, and the whole sequence was filmed from the Northrop T-38 Talon chase plane. The pilot was treated at a Lancaster, California hospital, and returned to the A-10 cockpit six months later

Sources:

1. http://www.scramble.nl (Scramble 256)
2. http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/A-10/Gideon/Gideon_A_10.htm
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1973.html
4. http://warthogaircraftdatabase.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/fy-1973-pre-production-aircraft.html

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
25-May-2013 20:45 Dr. John Smith Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
08-Dec-2013 21:46 Dr. John Smith Updated [Location, Departure airport, Narrative]
03-Jun-2014 01:30 Dr. John Smith Updated [Embed code, Narrative]
08-Jul-2015 07:10 Anon. Updated [Narrative]

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