Thunderbird pilot dies in crash, team’s Hill AFB air show status unknown
Thunderbird pilots fly in formation during the Warriors Over the Wasatch air show at Hill Air Force Base in 2016. A Thunderbird pilot was killed Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The aerial demonstration team's status for Hill's June air show is unknown after the crash.
Thunderbird pilots fly in formation during the Warriors Over the Wasatch air show on Hill Air Force Base in Layton on June 26, 2016.
HILL AIR FORCE BASE — A U.S. Thunderbird pilot was killed Wednesday, the same day Hill Air Force Base announced the aerial demonstration team would headline its 2018 air show.
According to a statement from the Nellis Air Force Base (Nevada) Public Affairs office, Maj. Stephen Del Bagno was killed after his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed over the Nevada Test and Training Range. The crash occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. April 4 while the airman was doing a routine aerial demonstration training flight, according to the statement.
The Air Force has begun an investigation of the incident.
Del Bango was a 2005 graduate of Utah Valley University in Orem, according to his Air Force profile.
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U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds
Thunderbird pilot Maj. Stephen Del Bagno was killed Wednesday April, 4 after his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed over the Nevada Test and Training Range.
The team’s participation at this weekend’s March Field Air & Space Expo in Riverside, California, has been canceled. The statement says it’s unknown how the accident will impact the remainder of the Thunderbirds’ 2018 schedule.
Hill’s Public Affairs office announced Wednesday the “Warriors Over the Wasatch” air and space show will be held June 23-24 on the base. As in years past, the Thunderbirds were scheduled to headline the show. In an email, Hill spokesman Micah Garbarino reiterated the Thunderbirds’ official statement, saying the team’s status for the Hill show is uncertain.
“We don’t yet know how this mishap will impact the rest of the Thunderbirds 2018 season,” Garbarino said. “But certainly our first thoughts are with this family and with the team after this loss.”
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The last time an air show was held at Hill, in 2016, the team’s status was also uncertain until just a few days before the show.
That year, a Thunderbird pilot crashed near Colorado Springs, Colorado, during a flyover at an Air Force Academy commencement ceremony in early June. The pilot ejected safely and was not seriously injured. The team was forced to cancel or reschedule several shows, but they were back in the air by the time the Hill show started in late June.
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The theme of this year’s Hill air show is “The Legacy Continues,” according to a base press release, with the show highlighting the history and heritage of Hill and the Air Force in air and space.
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The show is scheduled to include a special operations parachute team as well as several other military and civilian aerial demonstrations. Displays of modern and historic military aircraft and equipment will also be featured, and an entire hangar will be dedicated to STEM education, with aerospace companies providing displays and interactive activities.
The show is held every other year. The two-day event regularly draws more than 500,000 visitors.
As the show nears, event updates will be posted at www.hill.af.mil.
You can reach reporter Mitch Shaw at mishaw@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @mitchshaw23 or like him on Facebook at Facebook.com/MitchShaw.StandardExaminer.
