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Fighter Jet Crashes in ‘Star Wars’ Canyon, Killing Pilot Fighter Jet Crashes in ‘Star Wars’ Canyon, Killing Pilot
(1 day later)
Fighter jets on training missions drop into a narrow canyon in California’s Death Valley National Park, banking and dodging the jagged walls. On a nearby overlook, tourists and aviation enthusiasts crane their necks or aim cameras at the jets, some of them so close that onlookers can glimpse into cockpits.Fighter jets on training missions drop into a narrow canyon in California’s Death Valley National Park, banking and dodging the jagged walls. On a nearby overlook, tourists and aviation enthusiasts crane their necks or aim cameras at the jets, some of them so close that onlookers can glimpse into cockpits.
This is a typical day at the so-called “Star Wars” Canyon, where the high-tech spectacle of American military jets resembles the famous sequence at the end of “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” in which spaceships plunge and speed through a corridor on the Death Star. This is a typical day at the so-called Star Wars Canyon, where the high-tech spectacle of American military jets resembles the famous sequence in “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” in which spaceships plunge and speed through a corridor on the Death Star.
But on Wednesday, a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed near the canyon, killing the pilot, military officials said. But on Wednesday, a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed near the canyon, killing the pilot, military officials said. On Friday, the Navy identified the pilot as Lt. Charles Z. Walker, 33.
Seven people on the ground were injured, none of them seriously, said Patrick Taylor, a National Park Service spokesman. The Navy said it would not release the pilot’s name until his next of kin had been notified. Seven people on the ground were injured, none of them seriously, said Patrick Taylor, a National Park Service spokesman.
The plane went down just before 10 a.m. about 40 miles north of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, the Navy said, and it left a dark scorch mark seared onto the volcanic cinder surface of the valley. The cause of the crash had not yet been determined. The plane went down just before 10 a.m. about 40 miles north of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, the Navy said, and it left a dark scorch mark seared onto the volcanic cinder surface of the valley. The cause of the crash is being investigated.
Park rangers responded to the scene after they received reports of smoke. The people who were injured told them they had been hit by fragments from the crash and had cuts or burns, Mr. Taylor said. They were taken to nearby medical facilities and treated, he said.Park rangers responded to the scene after they received reports of smoke. The people who were injured told them they had been hit by fragments from the crash and had cuts or burns, Mr. Taylor said. They were taken to nearby medical facilities and treated, he said.
The people who were hurt were part of a tour group from France, the news station ABC7 reported. One of them, his leg bandaged, told the news channel that the plane had crashed about 160 feet in front of their group, which had been standing at the Father Crowley vista point overlooking the valley. The people who were hurt were part of a tour group from France, the news station ABC 7 reported. One of them, his leg bandaged, told the news channel that the plane had crashed about 160 feet in front of their group, which had been overlooking the valley.
The station did not show the people’s faces as it interviewed them. “We were just a little bit behind, and the plane came like this,” said a woman, her arm wrapped in gauze, making a sweeping gesture that suggested a curving turn by the plane.The station did not show the people’s faces as it interviewed them. “We were just a little bit behind, and the plane came like this,” said a woman, her arm wrapped in gauze, making a sweeping gesture that suggested a curving turn by the plane.
The canyon, officially called Rainbow Canyon, is one of the best-known places in the world to watch sophisticated military aircraft and their pilots as they train, and draws visitors from around the country and the world. The canyon, officially called Rainbow Canyon, is one of the best-known places in the world to watch sophisticated military aircraft and their pilots as they train.
Mike Holbrook, 58, a retired military contractor, often meets up with like-minded visitors who gather at a popular spot overlooking the canyon with cameras or folding chairs to gawk in wonder when the jets suddenly pop into view.Mike Holbrook, 58, a retired military contractor, often meets up with like-minded visitors who gather at a popular spot overlooking the canyon with cameras or folding chairs to gawk in wonder when the jets suddenly pop into view.
“It is actually really close,” he said, referring to the proximity of the planes. “Planes come in and dip into the canyon. You feel the rumbling, especially when they kick in the afterburners. You can feel it in your chest.” “Planes come in and dip into the canyon,” he said. “You feel the rumbling, especially when they kick in the afterburners. You can feel it in your chest.”
Rainbow Canyon, about 160 miles north of Los Angeles, is described by the National Park Service as a landscape of “dark lava flows and volcanic cinders that abruptly gives way to the deep chasm.” The crash in California highlighted a type of low-level flying called terrain masking. In general terms, such training is intended to prepare pilots to approach targets while being shielded from enemy detection by hills or canyon walls.
The canyon and the surrounding area have been used by the American military for low-level flight training since the 1930s, Mr. Taylor said. When Rainbow Canyon officially became part of Death Valley National Park in 1994, an agreement called for that practice to continue, with an agreement for flights to remain at least 200 feet above the ground, he said. “Normally it would be in the context of an attack mission,” said Barrett Tillman, an aviation historian. The attacking jets “pop up,” climb steeply to release the ordnance, and immediately descend to the lowest possible altitude to escape.
Mr. Taylor said that he did not know exactly when the area began to be called Star Wars Canyon, but that the origin of the name might also be a nod to the canyon’s geological resemblance to Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine. Mr. Tillman, who has written about the history of aircraft carriers, said terrain-masking flights would depend on where the mission would be taking place. “If the deployment is oriented to maritime superiority, there probably would not be as much of the ‘Star Wars’ training, although it would still be done to maintain proficiency,” he said.
The training flights often tear through the canyon, but they are unscheduled and unpredictable. “It is regular enough that there are people who do go there to watch the planes coming, but not so common that everybody who sits there sees them,” Mr. Taylor said. “Star Wars Canyon” was also the nickname given to a deep stretch of rocky chasm in Oman, occasionally visited by American fighter jets during their Operation Southern Watch military campaign in Iraq in the 1990s.
He added that he had spoken to some enthusiasts who have seen “a couple dozen” flights in an outing, while others have stayed for hours with no luck. On Wednesday, Stephen Jakubowski was in his Maryland home when he heard the news about the Star Wars Canyon crash in California. His thoughts went back to Sept. 14, 1997, when his son, Lt. Jason E. Jakubowski, 26, was killed when his FA-18 jet crashed in the canyon in Oman during a low-level flight.
“The canyon itself is an unforgiving place, especially in the summer months when it is brutally hot,” Ben Ramsay, who runs an aviation website and is based in Britain, wrote in an email. He posted video online of his visit to the canyon last month. The pilot who was flying in formation with his son that day later told Mr. Jakubowski that they entered the canyon about five miles apart, with Lieutenant Jakubowski in front. The aviator “saw the result of the crash, with the smoke.”
“I can say that the skills that I observed of these talented airmen and women are second to none,” he said. “The flying that I witnessed in the canyon in early July was highly skillful, and it has come a real shock to me and to the wider aviation community of this terrible incident.” “I personally don’t know what happened,” Mr. Jakubowski said on Friday, saying some of the reports he later read had redactions. “It is a very tight canyon. They are moving 400 to 500 miles per hour. There isn’t much room for error.”
The crash was rare, officials said. “We have had mishaps before, in various locations, but not in this particular location,” said Capt. Jim Bates, according to a televised news broadcast. A very hot day would have affected the plane’s maneuverability, he suspected. It could have been engine failure, he said. “I know for sure that Jason was monitored throughout his progress,” said Mr. Jakubowski, 74, who served in the Air Force and then flew as a commercial pilot. “He had to have special permission to fly through the canyon. They don’t give them that, unless they think he is ready to do it.”
In California, military officials said crashes like the one that killed Lieutenant Walker were rare. “We have had mishaps before, in various locations, but not in this particular location,” said Capt. Jim Bates, according to a televised news broadcast.
Rainbow Canyon, about 160 miles north of Los Angeles, and the surrounding area have been used by the American military for low-level flight training since the 1930s, Mr. Taylor said. When Rainbow Canyon officially became part of Death Valley National Park, in 1994, an agreement called for that practice to continue, with an agreement for flights to remain at least 200 feet above the ground, he said.
The training flights often tear through the canyon, but they are unpredictable. “It is regular enough that there are people who do go there to watch the planes coming, but not so common that everybody who sits there sees them,” Mr. Taylor said.
Ben Ramsay, who runs an aviation website and is based in Britain, posted video online of his visit to the California canyon last month.
“I can say that the skills that I observed of these talented airmen and women are second to none,” he said in an email. “The flying that I witnessed in the canyon in early July was highly skillful, and it has come a real shock to me and to the wider aviation community of this terrible incident.”
The jet was part of a fighter squadron called VFA-151, which is stationed in Lemoore, Calif., and attached to the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis. It is a twin-engine warplane designed to fly from either aircraft carriers or ground bases.The jet was part of a fighter squadron called VFA-151, which is stationed in Lemoore, Calif., and attached to the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis. It is a twin-engine warplane designed to fly from either aircraft carriers or ground bases.
Tom Demerly wrote in 2017 on the website The Aviationist that Rainbow Canyon was “the Mt. Everest and the Louvre” of plane spotting.Tom Demerly wrote in 2017 on the website The Aviationist that Rainbow Canyon was “the Mt. Everest and the Louvre” of plane spotting.
It’s “one of the few places on earth where you point your camera down to shoot combat aircraft photos.”It’s “one of the few places on earth where you point your camera down to shoot combat aircraft photos.”