The Briefing Room
General Category => Military/Defense News => Topic started by: Elderberry on November 07, 2019, 01:45:43 am
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American Military News by Ryan Morgan November 06, 2019
A search is underway for a U.S. Air Force airman who went missing on Tuesday after falling out of a transport plane during a training jump from Hurlburt Field, Fla.
The airman fell roughly 1,500 feet out of a C-130 and into the Gulf of Mexico, and was able to deploy his parachute before hitting the water. Fox News reported flight crew members initially saw the airman treading water but lost sight of him when the plane attempted to circle back around.
According to the Northwest Florida News, the missing airman was part of the Air Force 24th Special Operations Wing (24th SOW). The airman’s name and description has not been revealed, and he has only been identified as a staff sergeant.
More: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/11/air-force-airman-falls-out-of-c-130-over-gulf-of-mexico-search-underway/ (https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/11/air-force-airman-falls-out-of-c-130-over-gulf-of-mexico-search-underway/)
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Air Force Times By: Stephen Losey
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/11/06/breaking-special-tactics-airman-missing-in-gulf-of-mexico-search-underway/ (https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/11/06/breaking-special-tactics-airman-missing-in-gulf-of-mexico-search-underway/)
As 6 a.m. Wednesday, 10 units were involved in the search and rescue effort:
♦ 24th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field
♦ 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field
♦ Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter aircrew
♦ Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew
♦ Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew
♦ Two Coast Guard Station Destin 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crews
♦ 96th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base
♦ U.S. Army 7th Special Forces Group, Duke Field
♦ Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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Prayers up!
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That happened a few miles from me. Surprisingly there is very little chatter on this and our hood is full of military personnel stationed at Eglin and Hurlburt.
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That happened a few miles from me. Surprisingly there is very little chatter on this and our hood is full of military personnel stationed at Eglin and Hurlburt.
I'm quite fond of that area. I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 yrs at NAS Pensacola.
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I'm quite fond of that area. I thoroughly enjoyed my 4 yrs at NAS Pensacola.
888high58888
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I hate to say it,but he must have been eaten. Otherwise the air units would have easily seen the strobe light on his web gear flashing last night.
Assuming of course that aircrew flying over water have strobe lights on their web gear. I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't.
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The life vests we use on the platform contain radio transponders that activate when wet. Not sure if that would be desirable in a military situation.
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Talked to one of my Ranger neighbors and he said It doesn't look good for a rescue mission. More like a recovery mission. They are searching an area from west of Okaloosa island to Pensacola. He also said that the airman that departed the C-130 aircraft making an unintentional water landing broke the first rule of being on an air crew: don't fall out of the plane.
These guys pretty much shoot straight.
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...the C-130 aircraft making an unintentional water landing...
What does that mean?
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What does that mean?
It means the crewman had no intention to fall out of the plane and land in the water. It was purely unintentional.
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The life vests we use on the platform contain radio transponders that activate when wet. Not sure if that would be desirable in a military situation.
@Hoodat
I can't see how they would harm anything because the guy is going to die if no one can find him.
Besides,this was a peacetime training mission.
I suspect he is in a heap of trouble if alive and they find him,though. He should have been strapped to the interior of the aircraft so he couldn't fall out. As an E-6 he can't even claim he didn't know.
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It means the crewman had no intention to fall out of the plane and land in the water. It was purely unintentional.
Okay, I read that as the aircraft making a water landing...
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What does that mean?
@thackney
It means "don't EVER do it!".
They are supposed to be wearing safety straps attached to them and to the aircraft when the doors are open or the ramp is down,and this guy obviously wasn't.
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Okay, I read that as the aircraft making a water landing...
@thackney
That is probably THE Number 1 thing a C-130 is never supposed to do. They don't float very well.
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It means the crewman had no intention to fall out of the plane and land in the water. It was purely unintentional.
Yup. I should have phased that better. The airman that departed the C-130 aircraft, making an unintentional water landing.
Sorry.
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[...] broke the first rule of being on an air crew: don't fall out of the plane.
That's a pretty useful rule right there...
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Staying out of the water is a standard rule on aircraft carriers, too, but the one I was aboard had quite few guys hit the drink "accidentally." Only one became breakfast for the sharks. :pondering:
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U.S. Airman Falls Into Gulf During a Training Exercise and Is Still Missing
The airman’s parachute deployed and was seen treading water, but hasn’t been seen since.
By Kyle Mizokami
Nov 6, 2019
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Pick
A U.S. Air Force airman fell out of a special operations transport during an exercise.
The airman, who fell from a c-130 aircraft, was last seen alive and treading in the water.
So far, the pilot hasn't been found and the search for the missing airman continues.
A U.S. Air Force airman serving with a special operations unit is missing after he accidentally fell out of a transport plane into the Gulf of Mexico. The airman was last seen “treading waterâ€. “Dozens†of U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard airplanes and helicopters are reportedly searching an area south of Hurlburt Field, Florida.
The incident took place last night. According to The Aviationist, which has an excellent roundup on the situation, an airman from the 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field Florida fell out of a C-130 cargo plane ten miles off the coast of Florida. Air Force Magazine reports the airman, “was participating in a static-line jump as part of a training event when he exited the aircraft about four miles south of Hurlburt.â€
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a29714974/usaf-airman-missing/ (https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a29714974/usaf-airman-missing/)
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The airman’s parachute deployed and was seen treading water, but hasn’t been seen since.
Treading water is never an option. If anyone finds him/herself stranded in the ocean, one can make a float out of a pair of long pants/jeans/trousers.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAhUD6_gS6w#)
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U.S. Airman Falls Into Gulf During a Training Exercise and Is Still Missing
The airman’s parachute deployed and was seen treading water, but hasn’t been seen since.
By Kyle Mizokami
Nov 6, 2019
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Pick
A U.S. Air Force airman fell out of a special operations transport during an exercise.
The airman, who fell from a c-130 aircraft, was last seen alive and treading in the water.
So far, the pilot hasn't been found and the search for the missing airman continues.
The PILOT is still missing? WTF? Did he run away from home and they can't be bothered to look for him,or did the C-130 go down and the missing airman jump to avoid being in the plane crash?
The incident took place last night. According to The Aviationist, which has an excellent roundup on the situation, an airman from the 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field Florida fell out of a C-130 cargo plane ten miles off the coast of Florida. Air Force Magazine reports the airman, “was participating in a static-line jump as part of a training event when he exited the aircraft about four miles south of Hurlburt.â€
WHY would a C-130 crewman be participaing in a static line jump with the Special Operations Command? There are no airplanes operating on the ground.
This is some seriously lousy reporting all around. I now know less about what happened than I did after reading the headline.
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Coast Guard ends search for combat controller who fell from C-130, Air Force effort switches from search to recovery
By: Air Force Times staff  
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search efforts for the Special Tactics airman who had an unplanned parachute departure from a C-130 aircraft during a training exercise Tuesday morning over the Gulf of Mexico, about four miles south of Hurlburt Field, Florida.
As of 6 p.m. Friday, the Air Force had taken the lead role as the search for the airman, from the 24 Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt, transitions to a recovery effort.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to all of the federal, state and local units that have aided in the search for our airman, especially the U.S. Coast Guard,†said Col. Matt Allen, commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing, in a news release. “We will continue our recovery effort as long as circumstances and resources allow to bring our airman home.â€
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/11/09/coast-guard-ends-search-for-combat-controller-who-fell-from-c-130-air-force-effort-switches-from-search-to-recovery/ (https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/11/09/coast-guard-ends-search-for-combat-controller-who-fell-from-c-130-air-force-effort-switches-from-search-to-recovery/)
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... Condiff, a Special Tactics combat controller, served in the Air Force’s 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing. His roles included static-line jumping, military free-fall jumping and combat scuba diving.
Condiff was “specially trained and equipped for immediate deployment into combat operations to conduct global access, precision strike, and personnel recovery operations,†according to the report. ...
(https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/cole-condiff.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618&h=410&crop=1)
More at NY Post (https://nypost.com/2019/11/11/air-force-officer-presumed-dead-after-falling-from-plane-during-parachute-training/)
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Condiff was a static-line jumpmaster, military free-fall jumper, combat scuba diver, air traffic controller and a joint terminal attack controller. As a special tactics combat controller, he was trained for immediate deployment into combat operations to conduct reconnaissance, global access, precision strike and personnel recovery operations.
A local source with more about the
https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/11/09/missing-hurlburt-airman-identified-air-force-staff-sgt-cole-condiff/2550330001/ (https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/11/09/missing-hurlburt-airman-identified-air-force-staff-sgt-cole-condiff/2550330001/)