Green Ramp disaster

Green Ramp disaster
Wreckage of the parked Lockheed C-141 Starlifter destroyed by the accident; its punctured fuel tanks contributed to the fireball.
Accident
DateMarch 23, 1994
SummaryMid-air collision caused by ATC and pilot error
SitePope Air Force Base,
North Carolina, U.S.
35°10′05″N 79°01′30″W / 35.168°N 79.025°W / 35.168; -79.025
Total fatalities24 (on ground)
Total injuriesover 100
First aircraft
TypeGeneral Dynamics F-16D Fighting Falcon
OperatorUnited States Air Force
Registration88-0171
Crew2
Survivors2
Second aircraft
TypeLockheed C-130E Hercules
OperatorUnited States Air Force
Registration68-10942
Crew5
Survivors5
Third aircraft
TypeLockheed C-141B Starlifter
OperatorUnited States Air Force
Registration66-0173
Pope AFB is located in the United States
Pope AFB
Pope AFB

The Green Ramp disaster was a 1994 mid-air collision and subsequent ground collision at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. It killed twenty-four members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division preparing for an airborne training operation.[1][2][3]

As of 2024, this incident has the largest number of ground fatalities for an accidental crash of an aircraft on U.S. soil. It was also the worst peacetime loss of life suffered by the division since the end of World War II.

  1. ^ Dalesio, Emery P. (March 24, 1994). "16 killed when F-16, C-130 collide at Pope". Wilmington Morning Star. Associated Press. p. 1A.
  2. ^ Thompson, Estes (March 25, 1994). "Crash death toll is at 20". Wilmington Morning Star. Associated Press. p. 1B.
  3. ^ Brooks, Drew (May 23, 2014). "Survivors mark 20-year anniversary of Pope Air Force Base Green Ramp crash". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved June 16, 2014.