ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 161222
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| Date: | Monday 27 November 2006 |
| Time: | 13:32 LT |
| Type: |  General Dynamics F-16CG |
| Owner/operator: | 524th FS, 27th FW, USAF |
| Registration: | 90-0776 |
| MSN: | 1C-384 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Al-Karmah, 16km NE of Fallujah, Western Anbar Province -
 Iraq
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Balad Air Base, Iraq (ORBD) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Written off 27 November 2006 when crashed in Iraq, near Al Karmah, 16 km north-east of Falluja in western Anbar province, at approximate Coordinates:33°23′59″N 43°54′32″E. Incident took place at 13:32 hours, during a ground attack combat mission supporting ground forces.
The official cause of the accident was "channelised attention manifested by the pilots to maintain a constant visual positive identification of targeted enemy vehicles and subsequent target fixation on these vehicles while they were travelling at a high rate of speed".
Unfortunately the pilot, Major Troy L. Gilbert, was killed in this accident. Insurgents reached the crash site before coalition forces; it is presumed that they removed his body from the wreckage of the F-16 and buried it at an undisclosed location. As a result, no trace of Major Gilbert's body was ever found. The confirmation of him being listed as MIA/KIA was based upon traces of Major Gilbert's DNA (blood spatter, and an unspecified "body part") being found in the cockpit of the wrecked F-16.
According to a USAF Official Statement: "Duty Whereabouts - Status Unknown, was later CHANGED to KIA". It is now speculated that Major Gilbert did not eject. No automatic emergency beacon was activated - which would have been expected if an ejection had taken place
On February 16, 2012, the US Air Force agreed to resume the search for Major Gilbert's body, after requests from his widow and family. Although a full military funeral was held at Arlington National Cemetary in December 2006, very little of Major Gilbert was in the coffin, so the funeral was purely symbolic.
On August 28, 2016, an Iraqi tribal leader approached a U.S. military advisor near al Taqaddam, Iraq, and produced what he claimed to be evidence of the remains of a U.S. military pilot who had crashed in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Iraqi said he was a representative of his tribe, which had the remains and the flight gear the pilot was wearing when he went down.
The tribal leader turned over the evidence to the U.S. advisor who immediately provided it to U.S. experts for testing at the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. AFMES confirmed the evidence Sept. 7 through DNA testing.
With this verification, U.S. military advisors in Iraq reengaged the tribal leader who subsequently turned over the remains, including a U.S. flight suit, flight jacket and parachute harness.
AFMES confirmed Oct. 4 through dental examination and DNA testing that all remains received were those of Maj. Gilbert. His lost remains had been recovered and fully repatriated
For his heroic act in combat, Major Gilbert was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Sources:
1. https://www.khou.com/article/news/texas-news/Plea-by-family-of-fallen-Texas-airman-reaches-the-Pentagon-139990933.html
2. http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/3148/
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1990.html
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20170218164837/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/Aircraft_by_Type/F-16/USAF/f_16_USAF_00s.htm
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Karmah
6. http://www.acc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070402-011.pdf
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Anniversaries/November_27
8. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tlgilbert.htm
9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sheenachi/5360513949/
10. https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/air-force-asks-for-new-search-of-f-16-pilot-troy-gilberts-body-left-in-iraq/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Oct-2013 07:53 | gerard57 | Added |
| 26-Nov-2013 22:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Nov-2013 22:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Oct-2016 11:33 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
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