Hide Article Text (OCR)
Vol. 6-No. 9Wednesday, March 18, 1987ilamogordo, N. M.Holloman pilot killedin crashAn F-15 jet fighter crashed March 9 killing Holloman Air Force Base’s 833rd Air Division chief of safety.The crash occurred at 8:32 a.m. when the aircraft apparently lost power and crashed about three miles south of the base.Holloman Public Affairs identified the pilot as Lt. Col. Gene E. Jackson, 40, 833rd Air Division chief of safety. The aircraft was assigned to the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing. Public Affairs said the flight was a “routine” flight.Colonel Jackson was bom Sept. 20, 1946. He is survived by his wife and three children.He listed his home town as Lufkin, Texas.The crash site was near where two “hillocks” are prominent when looking south from the second base gate on U. S. 70.For security reasons, the crash site was blocked off by military personnel and State Police.In descent, the aircraft apparently clipped transmission lines of Plains Generating and Transmission Cooperative, lines which feed Texas-New Mexico Power Co. and Otero Electric Co-op.Electrical service was affected briefly to Tularosa, High Rolls-Mountain Park, Cloudcroft, Mayhill and intermediate service areas.“We lost two poles,” Bill Kent, manager of Texas-New Mexico Power, said.“Apparently there was a fire. . . the poles burned,” he said.Johnny Vaughn, Otero Electric Co-op said it may be necessary to “reset the lines” for a few minutes later today. There would be a brief interruption of service, he said.Emergency personnel at Holloman responded to the crash, Bob Pepper, of public affairs, said. Other details of the crash remained sketchy at press time.A board of qualified officers will be assigned to investigate the crash, he said.This is the fourth crash and the second fatal crash of a military fighter from Holloman Air Force Base in the last 15 months.The last fatal crash occurred Jan. 14,1986, when a F-15 pilot assigned to the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron died in a crash just north of Dell City,CRASH SCENE — Pictured is the area where an F-15 flown by Lt. Col. Gene E. Jackson crashed early, Monday. Wreckage is seen in the foreground and an investigative team is shown working in theDeborah Fronsdahl/WeeWy Newsbackground. A high-voltage power structure was damaged when the plane crashed.Texas, while on a routine training mission.One of the other two crashes involved two F-15s colliding Sept. 12,1986,15 miles north of Bingham. One of the aircraft went down with the pilot ejecting while the other managed to return to Holloman.An F-5 crashed 10 miles northwest of Holloman Oct 20, 1986. The pilot managed to eject safely.The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely manueverable tactical fighter, according to U.S. Air Force publicity material.The aircraft’s primary mission is air-to-air combat, according to the Air Force press release.The single seat, twin-engine aircraft is designed to out perform and out fight any current or projected enemy aircraft and to penetrate enemy defenses, according to thepress release.The first flight of the F-15 was made in July 1972 and the first aircraft delivered January 1976.Holloman Air Force Base has approximately 75 of the F-15 aircraft assigned to the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing.
Newspaper Details
Alamogordo Weekly News
Alamogordo, New Mexico, US
Wed, Mar 18, 1987
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
VA, USA 18 Jul 2024
Other Publications Near Alamogordo, New Mexico
Alamogordo Sunburst
Alamogordo Weekly News
Alamogordo News Advertiser
Alamogordo News
Alamogordo Daily News
