thunderbirds crash 1982 video thunderbirds crash 1982 video

endobj Earl Dibbles Jr.) - Granger Smith. The diamond tries to perform loop in a line abreast, when the leader's plane received mechanical break-down, which does not allow it to exit from loop. ''This is a devastating blow to us.''. #74417. December 11, 1954: Captain George Kevil killed during solo training. D l1A !Cxd8F/4FB!endstream endobj Kelso's description made it sound as if the pilots almost made it out of their loop. September 26, 1957: 1st Lieutenant Bob Rutte killed during solo training. [1] Four Northrop T-38 Talon jets crashed during operational training on 18 January 1982, killing all four pilots. A videotape of the last flight and analysis by experienced fighter pilots, present and former Thunderbird members, engineers and aircraft investigators have made it possible to reconstruct the. work in itself. It's losing close friends.''. stream A malfunction in the lead plane was blamed. A resident across the highway from the auxiliary base where the flight team practiced said he heard the whine of the red, white and blue jets as they climbed to a high arch, then the scream of the engines as they plunged downward to complete the maneuver. <> Transgender reporter inadvertently proves she's pushing 'porn' for children in public schools, Mayor Lori Lightfoot finally said: "Chicago is full", Kim Jong-uns Sister Mocks Bidens Senility. The aerobatic team's participation in future air shows was canceled until further notice. <> 104 Likes, TikTok video from Avitationspotter (@avitationspotter): "noboby get injured#f16 #crash #thunderbird #sad #usaf #aviationspotter #jealous #stunt #fyp #plslike #avgeek #military #meme #fyppppppppppppppppppppp". 67 0 obj Willie Mays, 32, of Ripley, Tenn.; Capt. The fatal loop was the airborne equivalent of a backflip from a diving board. Six Thunderbird planes fly for an air show - four flying in formation and two flying solo maneuvers. The worst previous disaster for military aerobatics was in July, 1973, in Lakehurst, N.J., when two Navy pilots and a crewman were killed practicing for a show. [9], Coordinates: 363518N 1154048W / 36.5884N 115.680W / 36.5884; -115.680. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; The Thunderbirds are in a way not well spoken of by some people here in the U.K. People don't understand when they see the creees lining up and Range 65 is now referred to as "The Gathering of Eagles Range" - an annual aviation event that encourages the study of aviation history and the contributions of aviation pioneers at Air Command and Staff College. AIR FORCE FINDS MECHANICAL FAILURE LED TO CRASHES OF FLYING TEAM, https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/11/us/air-force-finds-mechanical-failure-led-to-crashes-of-flying-team.html. 25 0 obj endobj A T-38's radio button is on the throttle, but it is not known whether Major Lowry tried to warn his wingmen. ''It's way too early to talk about that.'' Captain Melancon was buried in Dallas along his father, Air Force Major James Melancon, who died Sept. 24, 1957, when the B-26 he was piloting crashed in a residential area near Dayton, Ohio. The crash report said that the malfunction of the stabilizer did not show up in the feel of the plane's control stick. <> <> Major Lowry was at 3,592 feet and flying at 357 m.p.h. Directly in front of the crowd, 500 yards away, they pull up abruptly, losing speed as they climb and turning upside down at the top of a graceful loop perhaps 2,500 feet high, then picking up speed, arcing back to the starting point and roaring away from the awestruck spectators. because: (no reason given). So sad though original sound - Aviation . 63 0 obj TikTok video from plane dude (@aviationchaser): "I cant imagine how many accidents the thunderbirds have caused #fyp#avgeek#texas". school or just out and I think it was the first and only crash he surveyed. Col. Mike Wallace, of the Public Information Office at nearby Nellis AFB, home of the demonstration team, said that Major General Gerald D. Larson, the head of an Air Force investigation board, arrived at Nellis from New Hampshire at 10 p.m. that night. <> S!,VtKDX0aa47!PJ 4`b!AGb/n+D"CZK4m`6Hly" TR6ND2kd;C9L2G&2.P4o`GqZW:WELcc)o3%Bj#e#t5X\ . The Air Force was shocked and saddened by the crashes. 4H"U\&6g}1Z -^j1+3,c3%. Major Norm Lowry was buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Section 2, Site 1919, in California. ''We're in a collective state of shock,'' said Lieut. The crash, the worst in the Thunderbirds' 29-year history, shocked the fraternity of hot-fighter pilots everywhere, plunged the team's home field at Nellis into mourning, mystified those looking for causes and left the Thunderbirds' future in uncertainty. April 4, 2018: Major Stephen Del Bagno killed during a training flight. By William K. Stevens, Special To the New York Times, To master jet jockeys like the Air Force Thunderbirds, it is not considered a particularly difficult maneuver: Four T-38 Talon jets whistle along at 400 miles an hour and 100 feet above the ground, wingtip to wingtip in a formation called ''line abreast.''. D l1A !Cxn93l^i6aCx6endstream >> MORE:NewsCenter 7 had rare access to Thunderbirds just weeks before crash. Meanwhile, the Air Force community at Nellis and Las Vegas is in mourning. [4] However, the Air Force concluded that the crash was due to a jammed stabilizer on the lead jet. January 18, 1982: Major Norman L. Lowry, Captain Joseph N. Peterson and Captain Mark Melancon killed during training at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field. Following their leader to the end, all four planes plowed in the ground. He told air traffic controllers about engine. The Team had just completed a performance at Burke Lakefront Airport, in Cleveland, and were departing for Nellis AFB, NV and home. December 21, 1972: Captain Jerry Bolt and Technical Sargent Charles Lynn killed during a flight test. (Studio) Raising of tail section of Air Florida plane that crashed in Potomac River reported. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. His footage helped to determine the cause for the AFR 127-4 (the Air Force Regulation covering "Investigating and Reporting US Air Force Mishaps") accident investigation. Wreckage was strewn across a 1-square-mile area of the desert 60 miles north of Las Vegas. In Air Force shows, four Thunderbirds fly in formation and two others conduct solo stunts. D P0AaDh4 pp rC#^FFbLfao&1aLw 55 0 obj Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress\r\rhttp://www.ap.org/\rhttps://plus.google.com/+AP/\rhttps://www.facebook.com/APNews\rhttps://twitter.com/AP Willie Mays, 32, of Riply, Tenn., who was left wing when the Thunderbirds flew in the ''diamond'' formation that was their trademark; Capt. "Larson and a team of 10 to 15 experts are expected to spend three weeks studying the wreckage of the four T-38s the worst [training] crash in the 28-year history of the Air Force stunt flying team. Black digits on the altimeter stopped increasing, hung for a moment, then reversed direction and began decreasing, which is normal for an aircraft that has just gone from climbing to leveling to diving. Cajun Yesterday, we lost one of our own. 05:32:40 pm 05:34:40 pm. All four pilots were killed in the crash, which lead to the team being re-equipped with F-16s. It was the wrong altitude. The mechanical failure involved a jammed stabilizer, the component that keeps a plane steady in flight, on the tail of Thunderbird One, the T-38 training jet being flown by Maj. Norman L. Lowry 3d, the Air Force said in a report released earlier this month. <> <> Washington, DC / Air Crash Aftermath. I got to refuel At the time of the destruction, the families of the pilots and NBC had already demanded access to the tapes as part of a suit against Northrop and a FOIA request, respectively. The crash could have occurred because the command plane's pilot did not pull out in time, bringing the other three down with him, or because there were collisions in mid-air at some point in the maneuver. They didn't pull up fast enough. A photographer who flew over the crash site at Indian Springs, about 40 miles northwest of Nellis Air Force Base, said the impact broke the T38 Talon trainer jets into tiny pieces, with the largest no larger than a car fender. First Thunderbird loss during an airshow. endobj INDIAN SPRINGS, Nev. -- Four Air Force Thunderbird jets, practicing a 'line abreast loop' maneuver, nosed into the desert floor and burst into flames Monday, killing all four fliers. A videotape of the last flight and analysis by experienced fighter pilots, present and former Thunderbird members, engineers and aircraft investigators have made it possible to reconstruct the moments just before the crash. I couldn't believe they crashed. D l1A !C|"%1`bIm"endstream endobj The Air Force Thunderbirds doing Thunderbirds things!. "It happened so fast I couldn't tell you if one hit sooner. Narrative: Four T-38s of the Thunderbirds display team crashed while performing a formation loop during a practice flight. D l1A !Cxj0 F/4F1 endstream <> ''We were a very proud unit,'' Capt. He described the Air Force fliers as ''more like collegues'' than rivals, and said they were, in fact, friends and comrades in a highly exclusive club who saw one another about once a year. F-16 Thunderbird pilot Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, 34, lost consciousness for about five seconds prior to crashing his fighter jet at a speed of 39,750 feet per minute (just over 450 mph), according to. <> "Just as they pulled out of the dive, all four of them hit the ground," he said. In a strange twist, Captain Kuss' fatal crash happened hours after the Blue Angels' fellow pilots in the United States Air Force Thunderbirds suffered a crash of their own following the United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony earlier that day. stream stream The jets crashed almost simultaneously with what near-by Indian Springs residents described as an earthquake-like explosion that looked like a napalm bomb. [10], The Thunderbirds switched back to front-line jet fighters after the accident. "They were going full tilt, really screaming, and at the time I thought they were too low. [47] [48] I saw this happen. He doesn't like to talk about I've refueled just about every plane out there and I can tell you my absolute favorite was the thunderbirds. 7 0 obj <> it when he's sober. 1982 Thunderbirds Indian Springs Diamond Crash, The deadliest Thunderbird accident was the crash of a team support, U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Team, "Misjudgment held 'possible' in fatal Thunderbirds crash", "Air Force finds mechanical failure led to crashes of flying team", "The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, Turn 50, Part One", "Partial Videotape Erasure of 1982 Air Force Thunderbirds Crash (GAO/NSIAD-84-153)", Link access to USAF Mishap Investigation Report re 18 January 1982 "Diamond Accident", Thunderbirds Indian Springs "Diamond Crash", British Army Gazelle friendly fire incident, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1982_Thunderbirds_Indian_Springs_Diamond_Crash&oldid=1119514540, Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1982, 20th-century history of the United States Air Force, Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft, Aviation accidents and incidents in Nevada, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 November 2022, at 00:14. The Thunderbirds were practicing at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nevada (now Creech Air Force Base) for a performance at DavisMonthan AFB, Arizona. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); Major Norm Lowry, 37, of Radford, VA - commander/leader, Captain Willie Mays, 32, of Ripley, TN - left wing, Captain Joseph Peterson, 32, of Tuskegee, AL - right wing, Captain Mark E. Melancon, 31, of Dallas, TX - slot. 1982 Thunderbirds Indian Springs Diamond Crash, The deadliest Thunderbird accident was the crash of a team support, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft, Aviation accidents and incidents in Nevada, U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Team, http://web.archive.org/web/20110609175541/http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Thunderbirds-Diamond_Crash.htm, http://web.archive.org/web/20110628193518/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/usafads.htm, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954982,00.html, "Misjudgment held 'possible' in fatal Thunderbirds crash", http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ulUaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WicEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4319,345670&dq=thunderbirds+crash+history&hl=en, "Air Force finds mechanical failure led to crashes of flying team", http://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/11/us/air-force-finds-mechanical-failure-led-to-crashes-of-flying-team.html?scp=4&sq=thunderbirds%20indian%20springs&st=cse, http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1968.html, http://www.system-safety.org/Documents/AF_System-Safety-HNDBK.pdf, "The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, Turn 50, Part One", http://web.archive.org/web/20110711073322/http://www.garypalamara.com/Articles_Tbird_AFM-01.htm, "Partial Videotape Erasure of 1982 Air Force Thunderbirds Crash (GAO/NSIAD-84-153)", Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. stream Major Norm Lowry Captain Willie Mays Captain Mark Melancon Captain Pete Peterson See the article in its original context from. [9], On 2 April 1984, at the direction of Gen. Wilbur Creech, Commanding General, USAF Tactical Air Command, the two authorized and only known copies of the crash videotape were destroyed, with Creech himself erasing the portion of the master tape that showed the final impact and subsequent fireball of the four aircraft. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. A pilot my dad flew F4s with went on to be lead for the Thunderbirds. He had hit the first half of the loop at 448 m.p.h. Behind the scenes at Thunderbird training. [10], The Thunderbirds switched back to front-line jet fighters after the accident. D l1A !Cxj2 3l^i6!endstream I'd see them going to the f-22 before the 35. [3] The pilots were practicing the four-plane line abreast loop, in which the aircraft climb in side-by-side formation several thousand feet, pull over in a slow, inside loop, and descend at more than 400 miles per hour (640km/h). (June 2). endobj In 2005, Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field officially changed its name to Creech Air Force Base in honor of General Wilbur L. Bill Creech, who was known as the father of the Thunderbirds., Copyright 2002 Check SixThis page last updated Wednesday, July 01, 2015. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression. stream 57 0 obj [6], "At the speed they were going when they came out of the loop, I just thought, "That's the end of that for them fellows,'" said W. G. Wood of Indian Springs, who witnessed the crash as he drove along 95. At the United States Air Force Academy, a T-38 painted in Thunderbirds color scheme is decidated to the team and its then-leader, Major Lowry. D l1A !Cxj6EfmDCx6endstream Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker. 494 Likes, 40 Comments. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Thunderbird pilots are the hotshots of peacetime fliers, the darlings of the towns they perform in, and celebrities around their home base. Wood of Indian Springs, who witnessed the crash as he drove along U.S. 95. because it's all apart of who they, they are proud of what they represent so why joke about. The four-abreast loop is not considered as dangerous as some other air show maneuvers, such as the "bomb burst," where the planes race toward one another from different directions and then shoot high into the sky. January 19, 1982 Four Air Force Thunderbird aerobatic jets failed to pull out of a loop and slammed into the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas yesterday, killing all four pilots in the worst. In a practice session Monday, four members of the Air Force stunt team who had flown the ''line abreast loop'' hundreds of times failed to complete the loop. Me thinking its gonna be a normal airshow | These mfs show up: End Of Line but better - _King_Dingus_. Danger Zone (From "Top Gun" Original Soundtrack) - Kenny Loggins. Watch a Thunderbird crash at Air Show in 2003, located at Mountain Home Air Force Base. 19 0 obj And next to test pilots, fliers like the Thunderbirds are considered the elite of the elite. The "Diamond Crash," as it was later called, led to the Thunderbirds upgrading their T-38s to the frontline F-16A "Fighting Falcon" jet fighter, built by General Dynamics, for their performances. Survivors : 1(all) | USAF Thunderbird 6 Crash | Passengers : 0 | ( ) - Molchat Doma. The Elite of the Elite. 18, 1982, during training at indian springs. Reconstruction of Events. The 'No-Return' Point. For tonight's trip into the Wayback Machine, we're going to look at the 1982 Thunderbirds crash. >>PHOTOS: Thunderbird flips on its top at Dayton Air Show. D l1A !Cxm1y6 endstream ''These boys were ours. The four pilots died instantly: Major Norm Lowry, III, leader, 37, of Radford, Virginia; Captain Willie Mays, left wing, 31, of Ripley, Tennessee; Captain Joseph "Pete" Peterson, right wing, 32, of Tuskegee, Alabama; and Captain Mark E. Melancon, slot, 31, of Dallas, Texas. ''Fighter jocks,'' as the author Tom Wolfe called them in ''The Right Stuff,'' a book about test pilots and astronauts, are a proud bunch. USAF Thunderbirds crash at Mountain Home, AFB, on September 14, 2003. The report said the other pilots, doing what they had been trained to do, did not break formation with their leader as they performed a maneuver known as a line-abreast loop. July 25, 1977: Captain Charlie Carter killed during maneuvers at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. Mark E. Melancon, 31, born in Dallas and raised in Dayton, Ohio, who flew the slot position. <> [3] The pilots were practicing the four-plane line abreast loop, in which the aircraft climb in side-by-side formation several thousand feet, pull over in a slow, backward loop, and descend at more than 400mph. 66 Likes, TikTok video from Meghan1979 (@meg98murphey): "Watch a Thunderbird crash at Air Show in 2003, located at Mountain Home Air Force Base. <> (The Navy switched from fuel-hungry F-4 Phantoms to smaller A-4 Skyhawks.) 1.3K Likes, 36 Comments. The 1982 Diamond Crash was the worst operational accident to befall the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Team involving show aircraft. The first F-16A Fighting Falcon in Thunderbird colors arrived at Nellis AFB, Nevada, on 22 June 1982. <> The one farther east hit the ground first. <> %PDF-1.3 Hundreds of spectators and countless downtown office workers watched in horror as the jet plunged downwards toward Lake Erie. On January 18, 1982, during a training flight four of Thunderbirds's aircraft crash in Indian Springs, Nevada. This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. At the time of the destruction, the families of the pilots and NBC had already demanded access to the tapes as part of a suit against Northrop and a FOIA request, respectively. For tonight's trip into the Wayback Machine, we're going to look at the 1982 Thunderbirds crash. stream All of the pilots had been assigned to the aerobatics team for less than two years. Here's a toast. 278 Likes, TikTok video from Air.Crash.Investigation (@air.crash.investigation8): "#thunderbird #USAF #crash #planecrash #omg #fy #fyp #viral #amerika #ejected #2003 #tragic #plane #avation #avitation #aircrash#". Video shows Thunderbirds performing shortly before a jet crashed south of Colorado Springs after a flyover for the Air Force Academy graduation where President Barack Obama had spoken. Major Lowry, 37 years old, was restrained by a shoulder harness at the top of the loop as he flew at 161 miles per hour at 6,692 feet. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The worst crash in Thunderbird history, dubbed the "Diamond Crash," came when four pilots crashed Jan. 18, 1982, during training at Indian Springs. !N"A&9G)12/ 2S#;I;T,4\'Ntw]R$I#T")dtF4PMcDd4CAJTL}x0(]lS[S%c1IA@'lU38E0H@4 *"cPg#NOt43+uyE\>6"Es'b,2fP1^-S.S#9x?Y$qmNrFCgCWvhwQ)KKk '7;#7v6 f.p[`p@W8g)*=+";/Z#fPGG6H+-0;iBbo8~r^d>3ChkP bV\O dC 0l!E^v`CdqdCFO!GQX% See the article in its original context from. The other three followed within a tenth of a second, flying in formation. walking to the aircraft and making it look all professional. <> [9], On 2 April 1984, at the direction of Gen. Wilbur Creech, Commanding General, USAF Tactical Air Command, all copies of the crash videotape were destroyed, with Creech himself erasing the final crash segment of the master tape. endobj The Air Force said it had not determined the cause of the crash but would spend the night sifting through the debris. The Thunderbirds were practicing for an air show on March 13 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. 1982 THUNDEZBIIUB CRASH Tech Sergeant Alfred R. King, as part of his normal duties, videotaped the lhunderbird flying session the day of the crash. 41 0 obj <> <> Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. endobj D l1A !Cx`.3l^i6b!endstream <> <>>>/Parent 826 0 R>> Seconds later, the plane's nose was pointed straight down in a 90-degree dive. The farthest left plane is the leader, meaning the other three are supposed to do exactly what it does. Creech did not seek JAG guidance prior to destroying the tapes, and asked two of the three personnel who had been involved in reviewing the tapes to leave the room prior to his partial erasure of the master tape. June 4, 1972: Major Joe Howard killed during the Transpo airshow at Dulles International Airport. 61 0 obj In the wake of yesterday's crashes, however, Air Force officers were predicting that planned air shows will be called off, at least for the rest of this year. 49 0 obj Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. January 18, 1982 A New Leader. Behind the scenes at Thunderbird training Behind the scenes at Thunderbird training. William T. Mays, the left wingman; Capt. This made it all the more tragic for those who saw the planes plunge into the desert on the clear day. Kickstart My Heart - Mtley Cre. D l1A !Cx`7!3l^i6F!endstream 23 0 obj But Captain Cook, who flies one of the Thunderbirds' solo roles and had returned to his base at Nellis when the crash occurred, said that in formation flying each pilot is constantly checking his instruments, the other planes and the surroundings. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. D l1A !Cxn2F/4FqB!endstream January 9, 1969: Captain Jack Thurman killed during solo training. Xd4!q\81y3 endstream })(); At Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Base, Nevada. stream <> endobj stream Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. 29 0 obj In another 1.3 seconds, Thunderbird One hit the ground tail first at 478 m.p.h. endobj Normally, he said, a pilot would not follow his leader to disaster ''because you monitor everything.'' D l1A !Cxf0DD3l^i6FB!endstream >> MORE: NewsCenter 7 had rare access to Thunderbirds just weeks. He stated that he erased the tape because it would likely be used for sensationalism purposes and he was concerned about the privacy of the victims' families. Joseph N. Peterson 3d, the right wingman; and Capt. At 670 feet, the jet was still in a 40-degree dive. them during a check ride and even though we didn't take pics on check rides my evaluator allowed me to. From there he ''floated over the top,'' the loop's halfway point, the report said. (function() { But cooler heads prevailed - those who understood the value to military recruitment and on January 26, 1982, Congress passed Resolution 248,stating that "The Congress hereby affirms its strong support for continuation of the Thunderbirds program." The aircraft experienced a structural failure of the horizontal stabilizer. Any multi aircraft display team I find impressive whether endobj The Air Force said that before yesterday the Thunderbirds had lost 15 air crew members since the air show program started in June, 1953. and within four seconds had climbed to 3,400 feet and slowed to 334 m.p.h. endobj D l1A !Cxr9 FB/4F endstream "They were going full tilt, really screaming, and at the time I thought they were too low.". 516K views 6 years ago On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration released audio from Major Alex Turner's F-16 crash from June 2nd, 2016. We'll if it wasn't for the price tagthat would be a sexy looking thunderbird. An Air Force spokesman at the Nellis base, home of the Thunderbirds, said the wingtips are only about six feet apart when the abreast loop is performed at an air show but are farther apart during practice sessions. stream including the way they do air refueling. The crash report said the flight's radio transmissions were not recorded. <> Former demonstration-unit members still on active duty were recalled to help rebuild the squadron.[2]. Today turns 30 years since Thunderbirds Diamond Crash. The crash of the Thunderbirds ''hits close to home,'' Lieutenant Smith said in a telephone interview. "[2], Technical Sergeant Alfred R. King filmed the accident from the ground. And before I said that, it was over with. TikTok video from Alex Kowtun (@alexkowtun): "The Air Force Thunderbirds doing Thunderbirds things!! "The instant they hit, you knew they were dead.". Wreckage was strewn across a 1-square-mile area of the desert 60 miles north of Las Vegas. stream Contents 1 Accident 2 Eyewitness accounts 3 Investigation and aftermath Three-tenths of a second later, Major Lowry plummeted past 281 feet, the point at which the Thunderbirds were supposed to be flying level.