Maj US Air Force
58th Operations Squadron, out of Kirtland Air Force Base, NM
He was serving as pilot onboard an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter conducting combat operations for 'Operation Mountain Resolve' when it crashed nine miles east of Bagram Air Base. A compressor problem caused one of the two engines on the Pave Low to stall, leaving it with one engine operating and too much weight to carry in the thin mountain air. He attempted to jettison the auxiliary tanks without success and then the other engine stalled while an emergency landing was being attempted. With all power lost, the helicopter fell from an altitude of about 200 feet onto an uneven river bank, rolled over and burst into flames. Eight people somehow managed to survive. He opted for helicopters after being accepted into the Air Force Academy from where he graduated in 1992. He began his pilot training at the old Reese Air Force Base near Lubbock and served at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, before his first assignment at Kirtland, in 1995, for further training. After Kirtland, he served in the Air Force's elite special operations branch, first at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and later at Royal Air Force Station, Mildenhall, England. He worked his way up Air Force duties and ranks, starting as a Pave Low co-pilot and becoming a group safety officer, one of the most important duties in preventing accidents. In 1999, as NATO aircraft bombed Serbia to force Serb troops out of Kosovo, he helped organize search-and-rescue operations that saved two US pilots, including one from a downed F-117A stealth fighter jet from Holloman Air Force Base. In 2001 he returned to Kirtland. He was deployed from Kirtland in mid-October on a 60-day mission overseas and was to be back by Christmas. The other four servicemen killed in the crash were SSgt Thomas Walkup Jr USAF, TSgt Howard Walters USAF, SGM Phillip Albert USA, and TSgt William Kerwood USAF.
Interment for the co-mingled remains of the five crew members on January 21, 2004.
58th Operations Squadron, out of Kirtland Air Force Base, NM
He was serving as pilot onboard an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter conducting combat operations for 'Operation Mountain Resolve' when it crashed nine miles east of Bagram Air Base. A compressor problem caused one of the two engines on the Pave Low to stall, leaving it with one engine operating and too much weight to carry in the thin mountain air. He attempted to jettison the auxiliary tanks without success and then the other engine stalled while an emergency landing was being attempted. With all power lost, the helicopter fell from an altitude of about 200 feet onto an uneven river bank, rolled over and burst into flames. Eight people somehow managed to survive. He opted for helicopters after being accepted into the Air Force Academy from where he graduated in 1992. He began his pilot training at the old Reese Air Force Base near Lubbock and served at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, before his first assignment at Kirtland, in 1995, for further training. After Kirtland, he served in the Air Force's elite special operations branch, first at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and later at Royal Air Force Station, Mildenhall, England. He worked his way up Air Force duties and ranks, starting as a Pave Low co-pilot and becoming a group safety officer, one of the most important duties in preventing accidents. In 1999, as NATO aircraft bombed Serbia to force Serb troops out of Kosovo, he helped organize search-and-rescue operations that saved two US pilots, including one from a downed F-117A stealth fighter jet from Holloman Air Force Base. In 2001 he returned to Kirtland. He was deployed from Kirtland in mid-October on a 60-day mission overseas and was to be back by Christmas. The other four servicemen killed in the crash were SSgt Thomas Walkup Jr USAF, TSgt Howard Walters USAF, SGM Phillip Albert USA, and TSgt William Kerwood USAF.
Interment for the co-mingled remains of the five crew members on January 21, 2004.
Maj US Air Force
58th Operations Squadron, out of Kirtland Air Force Base, NM
He was serving as pilot onboard an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter conducting combat operations for 'Operation Mountain Resolve' when it crashed nine miles east of Bagram Air Base. A compressor problem caused one of the two engines on the Pave Low to stall, leaving it with one engine operating and too much weight to carry in the thin mountain air. He attempted to jettison the auxiliary tanks without success and then the other engine stalled while an emergency landing was being attempted. With all power lost, the helicopter fell from an altitude of about 200 feet onto an uneven river bank, rolled over and burst into flames. Eight people somehow managed to survive. He opted for helicopters after being accepted into the Air Force Academy from where he graduated in 1992. He began his pilot training at the old Reese Air Force Base near Lubbock and served at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, before his first assignment at Kirtland, in 1995, for further training. After Kirtland, he served in the Air Force's elite special operations branch, first at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and later at Royal Air Force Station, Mildenhall, England. He worked his way up Air Force duties and ranks, starting as a Pave Low co-pilot and becoming a group safety officer, one of the most important duties in preventing accidents. In 1999, as NATO aircraft bombed Serbia to force Serb troops out of Kosovo, he helped organize search-and-rescue operations that saved two US pilots, including one from a downed F-117A stealth fighter jet from Holloman Air Force Base. In 2001 he returned to Kirtland. He was deployed from Kirtland in mid-October on a 60-day mission overseas and was to be back by Christmas. The other four servicemen killed in the crash were SSgt Thomas Walkup Jr USAF, TSgt Howard Walters USAF, SGM Phillip Albert USA, and TSgt William Kerwood USAF.
Interment for the co-mingled remains of the five crew members on January 21, 2004.
58th Operations Squadron, out of Kirtland Air Force Base, NM
He was serving as pilot onboard an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter conducting combat operations for 'Operation Mountain Resolve' when it crashed nine miles east of Bagram Air Base. A compressor problem caused one of the two engines on the Pave Low to stall, leaving it with one engine operating and too much weight to carry in the thin mountain air. He attempted to jettison the auxiliary tanks without success and then the other engine stalled while an emergency landing was being attempted. With all power lost, the helicopter fell from an altitude of about 200 feet onto an uneven river bank, rolled over and burst into flames. Eight people somehow managed to survive. He opted for helicopters after being accepted into the Air Force Academy from where he graduated in 1992. He began his pilot training at the old Reese Air Force Base near Lubbock and served at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, before his first assignment at Kirtland, in 1995, for further training. After Kirtland, he served in the Air Force's elite special operations branch, first at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and later at Royal Air Force Station, Mildenhall, England. He worked his way up Air Force duties and ranks, starting as a Pave Low co-pilot and becoming a group safety officer, one of the most important duties in preventing accidents. In 1999, as NATO aircraft bombed Serbia to force Serb troops out of Kosovo, he helped organize search-and-rescue operations that saved two US pilots, including one from a downed F-117A stealth fighter jet from Holloman Air Force Base. In 2001 he returned to Kirtland. He was deployed from Kirtland in mid-October on a 60-day mission overseas and was to be back by Christmas. The other four servicemen killed in the crash were SSgt Thomas Walkup Jr USAF, TSgt Howard Walters USAF, SGM Phillip Albert USA, and TSgt William Kerwood USAF.
Interment for the co-mingled remains of the five crew members on January 21, 2004.
Bio by: Brenda N
