 1988 Remscheid A-10 crash site | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 8, 1988 |
| Summary | Crash during low-altitude flight |
| Site | Remscheid, West Germany 51°11′11″N 7°09′38″E / 51.18639°N 7.16056°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | A-10 Thunderbolt II |
| Operator | United States Air Force |
| Registration | 81-0957 |
| Flight origin | Nörvenich Air Base |
| Occupants | 1 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 6 |
| Ground injuries | 50 |
The 1988 Remscheid A-10 crash occurred on December 8, 1988, when an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet of the United States Air Forces in Europe crashed into a residential area in the city of Remscheid, West Germany. The aircraft crashed into the upper floor of an apartment complex. In addition to the pilot, six people were killed. Fifty others were injured, many of them seriously.
The plane was engaged in a low-altitude flight exercise.[1] It belonged to a unit from Bentwaters Air Base but at the time of the accident was stationed at Nörvenich Air Base, a so-called Forward Operation Location (FOL).[2]
The flight leader, Captain Marke F. Gibson,[3] was leading his flight followed by his wingman, Captain Michael P. Foster. The cause of the accident was attributed to spatial disorientation, after both planes encountered difficult and adverse weather conditions for visual flying. Captain Gibson was able to maneuver his aircraft to safety, but Captain Foster's aircraft crashed into the houses on Stockder Strasse.[4]
- ^ "West Germany / United States Plane Crash NBC News broadcast". Vanderbilt Television News Archive. December 8, 1988. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012.
- ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 12 Dec 1988". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Major General Marke F. Gibson". USAF. August 2009.
- ^ Bittorf, Wilhelm [in German] (December 25, 1988). "Ich hab' meinen Flügelmann verloren" [I have lost my wingman]. Der Spiegel (in German).