It is now almost 24 hours since the F-16 from Nellis AFB has crashed and the Air Force is still saying they have not found the pilot. There has been no updates from the media since this morning.
The news reporting on this crash has been disturbing, at best. Channel 8 didn't even report on the crash in their first segment of the news. I guess a missing military pilot is not major news to them. None of the television stations in the Valley has sent a crew up to Caliente to see what is going on. They are relying on Nellis AFB to feed them the information.
So, what can a news crew do up in Caliente? They can observe the different crews going and search. For instance, they may be able to see different military vehicles that are up there, talk to firefighters from Caliente, talk to residents to see if they have noticed anything, if there is an airport up there, see who is refueling up there. Are the Nellis helicopters refueling there or flying back to Nellis and refueling and then returning to the scene and continue searching. Is the Naval base in Fallon helping out? How about the BLM and NDF helping out.
Why are the media knocking down Nellis AFB doors demanding answers like who is in charge of the search, what equipment are they using, are they sending every available Nellis AFB airman to the search area. Nellis should be sending bus loads of airmen to scene to help search for the pilot, especially since there are few, if any flights leaving and arriving at Nellis. Are they using any other agencies like the Civil Air Patrol or the Metro helicopter? Are they using private pilots in small aircraft to search. This what a competent media would be asking. But we don't have a competent media in Las Vegas.
But the media in the Valley are just being lazy and are waiting the AFB to give them the condensed and sanitized version of the story.
How pathetic.
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I agree the coverage has been anemic, however the AFB is doing everything they can to find the pilot. Crash response teams and search and rescue were sent immediately. They are highly trained and dedicated. They will not stop until they have found the pilot or at least his remains. The crash site itself is being protected to aid the investigation. If the media merely waits on the AFB, they won't get updates b/c the investigation will be confidential and the pilot's information/condition will not be released until there is definite news and the family has been notified.
ReplyDeleteOur Air Force family takes this very seriously and it is always a hard hit when there is a crash. Right now we are all praying for the pilot and his family.
Unfortunately, the family has been notified - and the outcome is not good. I'm not sure what the hold up is on releasing information...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/208344/group/homepage/
ReplyDeleteDon't ever doubt the work of your nations military we never leave anyone. We have the Best search and rescue squadron at nellis for these reasons. We are not here to release info as fast as possible to the media. We take care of family. First. RIP Capt Ziegler
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/notes/jan-stilwell-suttlemyre/captain-eric-dirk-ziegler-memorial-service-and-education-fund/10150239032199277
ReplyDeleteThank you for the facebook info. I'm not on Facebook, so i can't access the information.
ReplyDeleteAs far an anon at 6-30 at 5:23, this is the reason why the Air Force has public affairs officers. I have followed several crash accidents around the country and this is the worst case of information ever. You say you take care of family first, ok, I understand that, but what about the rest of the Air Force family? Don't you think they are interested in what is going on?