1982 Thunderbirds Indian Springs Diamond Crash

The 1982 Diamond Crash was the worst operational accident to befall the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Team involving show aircraft. Four Northrop T-38 Talon jets crashed during operational training on 18 January 1982, killing all four pilots.

The Thunderbirds were practicing at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nevada for a performance at Davis–Monthan AFB, Arizona. Four T-38As, Numbers 1–4, comprising the basic diamond formation, hit the desert floor almost simultaneously on Range 65, now referred to as "The Gathering of Eagles Range". 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 mph. The planes were meant to level off at about 100 feet ; instead, the formation struck the ground at high speed.

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