My thoughts are with you
A Debt We Owe - In memory of Justin Swofford
- Thread starter CarlS
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Wonderful and sad at the same time.
My thoughts are with you.
My thoughts are with you.
Carl : So sorry , may God bless . Brooke
Thank you, Dave.
Thank you, Rocky. Sheryl did a great job in putting that together.
Thanks much, Brooke. I appreciate it.
Thanks much, Chris.
Carl i am so sorry to hear this, i did hear about this on the news, it is such a loss, we will be thinking about you and your family.
Thank you, David. I will place a flag on his grave on Monday.
My special thanks to DaveM. Dave went way out of his way and above and beyond to update this thread. He found away to download the video from Facebook and upload it to YouTube. This took a lot of time and effort on his part and I wish to publicly acknowledge what he did and thank him. Thank you, Dave. It means more than you know.
The video is now embedded in the first post of this thread honoring Justin.
The video is now embedded in the first post of this thread honoring Justin.
Carl what an outstanding tribute this video is. 
Thank you Dave and Rocky. Every time I watch it, I smile, laugh and cry! Several in that video have since passed - my mom and dad and several friends. 
A further update as to the cause of the crash.
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a twin-turboshaft attack helicopterwith a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has significant systems redundancy to improve combat survivability. Hughes aircraft developed and built the Apaches. Boeing acquired Hughes, so now it is the Boeing Apache.
About six months after the crash, I received a copy of the investigation report that was heavily redacted. From that primarily report I learned there was absolutely no pilot error. I already knew weather was not a factor. I also learned maintenance was not a factor. Both pilots were clean - no drugs or alcohol in the system of either pilot. And both pilots were current and qualified.That leaves a mechanical failure; but the nature of the failure was redacted.
The AH-64 Apaches were in combat at the time (as they are today). So the cause was classified until it could be corrected throughout the Apache fleet.
The Apache has two pilots, a pilot in command (PIC) and a copilot who also serves as the weapons officer. The PIC was CW3 Kent Walker, a Viet Nam combat veteran thousands of flying hours. Either pilot can fly the aircraft and both were fully qualified and trained to fly it.
The Apache has two fuel tanks, fore and aft. There is a valve called the crossover valve between the two tanks. This valve feeds the two jet engines. The pilot or copilot can set the valve to draw from one tank or the other or draw from both simultaneously. This is how they keep the aircraft balanced. It was this crossover valve that failed. It simultaneously shut the fuel draw from both tanks and the engines flamed out with seconds of each other. It was a simultaneous dual flame out.
Justin's unit had been called to active duty for deployment to Bosnia. They were undergoing the requisite trainup that all units undergo prior to deployment. One of the tactics the Apaches employ is to fly at tree level, pop up, take shot, and go back down and hide in the trees. This is what they were practicing. They were at tree top level (150-200 feet) when the dual flame out occurred. There was no time to auto rotate. Kent managed to get all of the electrics shut down before impact. The helicopter came down through thick timber nose first. The rotors were not turning so the tops of the trees were not sheared. The canopy closed over the aircraft and it could not be spotted from the air. It took ground search parties a couple of hours to find them.
There had been three other Apache crashes in the previous 18 months from undetermined causes. In each of these cases, the aircraft burned completely. In this case the helicopter was intact. Thus the Army and Boeing were able to pinpoint the cause. Without getting technical, with a certain amount of fuel (less than half) and at a certain flight attitude (angle of bank) the crossover valve would shut off all fuel. Based on this evidence, this is the probable cause of the other three crashes. There would have been more crashes had Justin's helicopter burned. Boeing and the Army corrected the problem with a redesigned crossover valve and retro fitted them. Lives were saved.
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a twin-turboshaft attack helicopterwith a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has significant systems redundancy to improve combat survivability. Hughes aircraft developed and built the Apaches. Boeing acquired Hughes, so now it is the Boeing Apache.
About six months after the crash, I received a copy of the investigation report that was heavily redacted. From that primarily report I learned there was absolutely no pilot error. I already knew weather was not a factor. I also learned maintenance was not a factor. Both pilots were clean - no drugs or alcohol in the system of either pilot. And both pilots were current and qualified.That leaves a mechanical failure; but the nature of the failure was redacted.
The AH-64 Apaches were in combat at the time (as they are today). So the cause was classified until it could be corrected throughout the Apache fleet.
The Apache has two pilots, a pilot in command (PIC) and a copilot who also serves as the weapons officer. The PIC was CW3 Kent Walker, a Viet Nam combat veteran thousands of flying hours. Either pilot can fly the aircraft and both were fully qualified and trained to fly it.
The Apache has two fuel tanks, fore and aft. There is a valve called the crossover valve between the two tanks. This valve feeds the two jet engines. The pilot or copilot can set the valve to draw from one tank or the other or draw from both simultaneously. This is how they keep the aircraft balanced. It was this crossover valve that failed. It simultaneously shut the fuel draw from both tanks and the engines flamed out with seconds of each other. It was a simultaneous dual flame out.
Justin's unit had been called to active duty for deployment to Bosnia. They were undergoing the requisite trainup that all units undergo prior to deployment. One of the tactics the Apaches employ is to fly at tree level, pop up, take shot, and go back down and hide in the trees. This is what they were practicing. They were at tree top level (150-200 feet) when the dual flame out occurred. There was no time to auto rotate. Kent managed to get all of the electrics shut down before impact. The helicopter came down through thick timber nose first. The rotors were not turning so the tops of the trees were not sheared. The canopy closed over the aircraft and it could not be spotted from the air. It took ground search parties a couple of hours to find them.
There had been three other Apache crashes in the previous 18 months from undetermined causes. In each of these cases, the aircraft burned completely. In this case the helicopter was intact. Thus the Army and Boeing were able to pinpoint the cause. Without getting technical, with a certain amount of fuel (less than half) and at a certain flight attitude (angle of bank) the crossover valve would shut off all fuel. Based on this evidence, this is the probable cause of the other three crashes. There would have been more crashes had Justin's helicopter burned. Boeing and the Army corrected the problem with a redesigned crossover valve and retro fitted them. Lives were saved.
I never knew my namesake uncle Lowell . P.O Lowell Milton Brehaut rests in England not far from where his Wellington crashed close to the end of a training flight to Noth Scotland and back to home base . All on board perished when the Wellington ran out of fuel . In 2011 myself and many family members were in Creswell for the unveiling of a stunning but modest monument to mark the tradegy. Many veterans attended and were overjoyed to see us there . Some made a point of explaining the situation during the stress of wartime. Wellington’s were fair machines at best for the job they were asked to do and when past their prime they were reconstituted as trainers. Things such as compression ratios were changed to make the trainers last longer etc ,etc , consequently the lives lost in training was an unbelievably high percentage of the young flyers who took on the task. May they all fly on forever and those left behind some how find comfort..
Carl will be thinking of you and yours. Brooke
Carl will be thinking of you and yours. Brooke
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Carl,I feel awful small after reading/seeing all of this, God bless you and your family, will be thinking about all of you. TD
Thank you, Brooke. I will thnking of and honoring your uncle Lowell on Monday. I also lost an uncle due to a training accident in the States in WWII. I never knew him. So many have given their all for us.
Thanks, David. I really appreciate your sentiments for my family. Of course I miss Justin and it was a huge blow. But our consolation is that Justin died honorably doing what he loved, flying, and following his dream. He loved serving his country in uniform.
Thank you, my son. Rest in peace. I miss you everyday!
So sorry Carl . Of all my fears , I believe the loss of a child or grandchild is the greatest. Thank you
Thank you, Brooke.
Justin, thinking of you and missing you on this Memorial Day. RIP, my son.
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