Why did his plane carry real missiles during an exercise????????

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/military-exercise-accident/

https://www.wearethemighty.com/arti...ce-shot-down-an-air-force-rf-4c-phantom/

Any other jet fighters friendly fire incident in non war time like this one?



Someone attempted to make him Admiral !!

https://nation.time.com/2012/02/17/navy-pilot-who-shot-down-u-s-plane-makes-admiral/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/friendly-fire-victim-outraged-over-navy-officers-admiral-promotion/

https://www.pilotonline.com/military/article_ca226700-e5e9-57f7-944b-a084b04c00e5.html

[/quote]
https://theaviationgeekclub.com/for...-shot-down-by-a-raf-phantom-interceptor/
[/quote]

The one detail missing in this excellent account of the infamous RAFG Phantom-Jaguar shoot-down incident is the date of the event.

25 May 1982.

Otherwise known as Vienticinco de Mayo, Argentina’s national day.

We rather had our hands full some 8000 miles away at the time, with Argentina making a strong, brave effort at going after the carriers that day. They sank the container ship Atlantic Conveyor instead, making a major dent in our logistics and thus increasing the time and human cost of the campaign to recover the Falklands/Malivinas.

Could explain why the shooting down of an RAF Jaguar over Germany that day may not have received much coverage at the time.

From the article “ The accident train was underway.”

It almost always a train of small items that lead to an accident.

That is indeed true. I can't find the video now but I saw a guy as a teenager flying the Mennen (aftershave) Special; a modified PJ265 that had been up-engined to 295 not a problem. The smoke smelled like Mennen aftershave. but during a demo flight a stabilizer strut came off and he landed, made a brief inspection and said it just came loose and they had flown without them before and took the other side off. During an aerobatic maneuver the entire empennage departed the aircraft and he died in front of his family. I remember watching it.
All he had to do was stay on the ground and say sorry folks , shows over. See you at the Airshow

An old pilot told this to me once: There are NO forced take-offs, only forced landings.