Air Force releases report on fatal February crash

The mishap happened the evening of February 19th during a routine training mission.

COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (WCBI) – The Air Force has released details on the cause of the crash that killed two Columbus Air Force Base pilots this past February.

Instructor pilot Scot Ames , Jr, 24 and Renshi Uesaki, 25, a student pilot from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force were killed when their T-38 Talon went down right outside of Dannely Field near Montgomery, Alabama.

The mishap happened the evening of February 19th during a routine training mission.

The report states that neither the student pilot nor instructor pilot recognized how low the aircraft was as they were approaching the runway. As the aircraft slowed to land, it began to stall. They were unable to recover from the stall and were not able to recognize the problem in time to safely eject. They crashed 1800 feet from the end of runway.

The report also states that the setting sun may have impacted the pilot’s ability to see the runway and could have made it harder to assess the situation.

Read the full report here: https://www.afjag.af.mil/Portals/77/AIB-Reports/2021/AIB%20Report%20Columbus%20T-38_Final.pdf