Aviano F-16 crash report under review

Aviano F-16 crash report under review
Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, January 12, 2008

It took the Air Force about nine weeks to conduct and release details of an F-15 crash in Missouri, but the report into an F-16 crash near Aviano Air Base, Italy, is still under review four months after it happened.

Susan Strednansky, chief of public affairs for U.S. Air Forces in Europe, said Friday that the report has been completed but has to be reviewed before it can be released.

“We’re still working on it,” she said. “It’s a big report.”

The F-16, piloted by Maj. Timothy Parker, was on a routine training mission from Aviano when it crashed in the mountains north of the base on Sept. 18. Parker safely ejected and suffered only minor injuries. The plane crashed near the small hamlet of Soramae di Zolto Alto, and American and Italian personnel cordoned off the area until the site could be cleared.

Parker, assigned to the 510th Fighter Squadron, has declined interviews. Second Lt. Kim Schaerdel of the 31st Fighter Wing public affairs office referred all questions on the investigation Friday to USAFE, which is the release authority.


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