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Last updated: 14 January 2011

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Narrative	F-16C 88-0473 (call sign TACO 42) of the 188th FS, 150th FW, New Mexico Air National Guard, USAF, was written off on 23 April 1998 when crashed 15 miles west of Carrizozo, New Mexico at the White Sands Missile Range, at co-ordinates 33'46.192" N and 106'12.520" W, while on a training mission. The pilot, 2nd Lt. Patrick J. "Sherman" Potter, was killed in the mishap. According to the following extract from the summary of the official USAF report into the incident: "The mission began with the flight briefing at approximately 18:00 Local (L) (00:00 Zulu (Z)) at the 188th Fighter Squadron (FS)/150th Fighter Wing (FW) at Kirtland AFB, NM on 22 April 1998. The flight was briefed as a three ship Mission Qualification Training (MQT)-9 Night Surface Attack Tactics (SAT) (Low Altitude Navigation Targeting Infra Red at Night (LANTIRN) Cat-1) sortie to the White Sands Missile Range complex. The call signs were Taco 41 through Taco 43. The flight took off at approximately 20:00L (02:00Z) with air refuelling conducted in AR-3 lOW track on the way to Red Rio Range. The first attack was a night medium altitude 30-degree bunt High Altitude Dive Bomb (HADB). On the second attack, a night medium altitude 30 degree roll and pull HADB, Taco 42 (1st Lt Potter), the mishap pilot (MP), in aircraft SN 88-0473 impacted the terrain at approximately 20:51.48 Local (02:51.48Z). The aircraft was completely destroyed and the MP was fatally injured. Taco 41 and 43 remained on station managing the Search and Rescue (SAR) effort until approximately 22:00L (04:00Z). They then recovered to Kirtland AFB/Albuquerque International (KAFB/ABQ INTL), landing at approximately 22:15 Local"
Source	1. http://web.archive.org/web/20170218120105/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/Aircraft_by_Type/F-16/USAF/f_16_USAF_90s.htm 2. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1988.html 3. http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0302/ML030280093.pdf 4. http://www.f-16.net/news_article301.html 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_Missile_Range 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrizozo,_New_Mexico 7. http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/3164/
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