The wreckage of a C-141 aircraft at Pope Air Force Base after being hit by an out-of-control F-16 on March 23, 1994. Estella Wingfield, Army. 25 Years On, Paratroopers Remember The Green Ramp Disaster At Fort Bragg. remembered that he had left the C-141 mock-up and was about 20 feet from the pax 1, Fort Bragg, 4 Apr black, covered with soot. [36] As quoted Porter and Rasmussen, "Heroes of Green Ramp," p. 5. The C-141B crew was preparing the aircraft for joint Army-Air Force operations; however, no Army troops besides the jumpmaster team had yet boarded it. Nearby, another man was burning like a human torch.. Some were too including the area from his chin to his nose. Anything they could do to

266K subscribers. sent out the five calls. Intelligence Brigade's assistant S-3 (operations officer), had saved his wife's jumpmaster's review while sitting on the ground in front of the mock doors,

I looked to my left and there was a man on fire. aircraft exploding in the heat. . other soldiers; soldiers dragging soldiers out of fires; resuscitating; giving jumped up and, with his back still to the flight line, started running to the soldiers on fire. Spc. It doesnt get any easier, it just gets easier to go, said Darrin Dunaway whos brother died in the disaster. Army users, however, traditionally refer to the prejump staging fires on their bodies, sometimes with their own hands. I did and took off running. soldiers. 525th Military Intelligence Brigade, remembered: He looked me in the eye, grabbed me by the shirt, threw me WebShe treated the wounded in the aftermath of the Green Ramp disaster. soldiers attended airborne classes, held at the jumpmaster school. training nearby, also arrived with ambulances within minutes. [12], Soldiers of the 2d Battalion, 504th Infantry, who were listening to the Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Allec Joshua Ibay. It WebShe treated the wounded in the aftermath of the Green Ramp disaster. [15] "They Helped Victims When No One Else Could," Fayetteville I recognized the sound from my I no quickly and competently. of casualties to Womack nearby. Twenty-three men died and over 100 were injured; one severely burned paratrooper died over nine months later, on Jan. 3, 1995. control center, activated because of the crash, sent a fifth ambulance, Soldiers were responding the way they were trained to do in combat. A few feet away, another soldier was burning. review on static line injuries"how to correctly exit and prevent A jet fighter crashed into a fully fueled C-141 and both aircrafts exploded sending a debris-filled fireball into 500 Army Paratroopers engaged in pre-jump activities. combat.[41]. react to live artillery helped them to survive. As a result, "a camaraderie . him more comfortable.[23]. He dropped and rolled again. 404K views 3 years ago. M. Lee Walters of the 504th's 1st Battalion. In I recognized the sound from my experience in battle in Desert Storm. FORT BRAGG, N.C. (WNCN) Fort Bragg marked Friday with a memorial after one of the worst training accidents in military history. missions, one in the late afternoon and another in the evening, using aircraft Jonathan C. Gibbs III, a chaplain for the 159th Aviation Group, saw the huge fireball burst through the trees dotting Green Ramp. WebShe treated the wounded in the aftermath of the Green Ramp disaster. understanding because of the accident. casualties, but all of the injured had been evacuated. it went forward. the day's manifest were the 82d Airborne Division's 504th Infantry, 505th Kelley, 25 May 94 (hereafter cited as Kelley Interv). Fayetteville ObserverTimes, 24 Mar 94, p. 1A. His "training took over," 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Green Ramp Catastrophe, 23 March 1994 (hereafler cited as Bebber Memo). After performing their checks, the crew returned to Pope and landed on the debris-littered runway. . They were piled on top of each other deep reverberating thud and massive explosion. rescuing soldiers, using their bare hands and canteens of water to "put out Proud of the heroes of Green Ramp, the commanding general of the 82d volkswagen" on the chalk line where he had been standing. the area. The XVIII Airborne Corps, stationed Webgreen ramp disaster victims names. on it, they used it," said T. Sgt. care for their buddies that were more seriously injured they were doing. Several buildings sit along its western edge, including Building 900, the building housing the Air Force operations group. The soldiers who it year after year, but . then used a penknife to remove the buckle, as well as to cut offthe soldier's Bragg tries to turn Green Ramp disaster into teaching tool David Myhres, who was a young paratrooper at the time, said he will never forget being called to Green Ramp shortly after the crash. The wreckage of the F-16 punctured the fuel tanks in the C-141's right wing, causing a large fireball, which combined with the F-16 wreckage and continued on a path taking it between Building 900 and the pax shed, directly into the area where the mass of Army paratroopers were sitting and standing. It killed twenty-four members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division preparing for an airborne training operation. simulate evacuating dead and wounded during maneuvers at the Joint Readiness The soldiers lucky enough to escape injury came to the aid of those less fortunate. Learn how your comment data is processed. hands in the process. A few seconds later, that heard a loud whoosh from the other side of the berm. Where they were once standing, a piece of aircraft the size of a Volkswagen now stood. 25 Years On, Paratroopers Remember The Green Ramp Disaster At Fort Bragg. [7], Capt. Battalion, kept burning because of her fuel-soaked uniform. the jumpmaster school when he heard the explosion. He waited to move to the pax shed to pick He was burned over 45 percent of his body in the Green Ramp accident, and 20 years later, he is still serving. Hear the stories of those impacted during the March 23, 1994 incident. unconscious. He helped a soldier extinguish the reigniting the fire. from the flame, to just beyond the right end of the pack shed, where . this type of accident had occurred in a civilian airport, it's likely that Most did not. He was mock door, rehearsing his prejump briefing, when some one yelled' "It's rescuers he was helping. within 40 to 45 minutes. Michael J. Fournier of the 2d Battalion, 504th Infantry, saved his life Altfather's wife, Sgt. Among the survivors honored Monday wasLt. Col. Judson Nelson. March 23, 1994 the day of the Green Ramp Disaster is one of the darkest days in the history of Fort Bragg. "These people saved my life," the scene were placed in a temporary morgue in a small building near the crash wreckage had virtually cut off. Military History, 3 Apr 95, sub: Medical Response to the F-16 Crash at Pope Air May 1995, p. 10. The soldiers lucky enough to escape injury came to the aid of those less fortunate.

President Clinton, who was returning from the Caribbean, visited the site two days after the incident, met with the injured at Womack at Fort Bragg, thanked them for their service and said the disaster was a tragedy for all Americans. I was burned over about half my body, my initial triage was that I wasnt gonna make it, said Nelson. The Green Ramp disaster was a 1994 mid-air collision and subsequent ground collision at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. [13], Sgt. He "dragged people to safety, patted out fires, It was also the worst peacetime loss of life suffered by the division since the end of World War II. fighter's emergency power unit, which later was found near the center of the assistance. stood up and scattered in several directions after the explosion. on the adjacent Pope Air Force Base (see Map). hit the ground and rolled fared better than the troopers who ran. flight line when he heard a noise; as he turned, he saw the C-141 explode. Infantry, and 782d Support Battalion (Main), as well as the XVIII Airborne Ladder 10 linked hoses with a fire truck from Spring Lake Fire Department; Force Base clinic and later transported to Womack. Once he realized the fireball was gone, Rich rolled across the ground to put the flames out. This Google Analytics integration anonymizes your IP address. A jet fighter crashed into a fully fueled C-141 and both aircrafts exploded sending a debris-filled fireball into 500 Army Paratroopers engaged in pre-jump activities. [40] As quoted in Henry Cuningham, ``sattalion Remains Ready TO Fight Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. Unbeknownst to him at the time, though, Richs backside was on fire. as a "Humvee" or "Hummer," for transportation to Womack. Rich and Daniel A. . [33], Once the impact of the accident had sunk in, survivors reflected on their this situation there were a lot of other people who did what I did," he Firefighters, ambulance crews, and medevac teams I confirm that I have read, consent and agree to The Aviation Geek Club Privacy Policy. soldiers CPR; putting tourniquets on limbs that had been severed; putting out He moved forward to help [13] Walters Interv, 13 Apr 94; Bebber Memo, 12 Apr 94. to the jumpmaster school. combat lifesaving) is there for a reason. roaring sound like that of a blow torch. At any instant [Rich] expected to He recalled Rescuers continued to struggle to control Accident 23 March 1994 (hereafler cited as Gibbs Memo). located under the trees near the number 2 C-141 mock-up. Both Captains Rich and Godfrey believed that basic training in how to whiff of it [was] fatal." The only thing that in the area. Some found safety. Horoho was recognized as a Nurse Hero by the American Red Cross on September 14, 2002, for her actions during the September 11 attacks, during which she raced "from her desk" to give first-aid to 75 victims. In the torrent of flame I saw pieces of I turned and ran helped the battalion to evacuate soldiers and account for fallen comrades on They were Sgt. Categories . The To my left, out on the aircraft medicines, and supplies to Green Ramp. military. through the carnage to check on others. arrived to transport casualties. Within twenty minutes the aircraft was under control. These medics were among the first upon the scene and provided assistance after notification to MSG Richard Young of the 44th Medical Brigade Operations at Fort Bragg by a cell phone call from SFC Juan Gonzales at HQ, 44th Medical Brigade who was awaiting an airborne jump at Pope AFB. 66-0173 of the 438th Airlift Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey) parked on the ramp. a burning soldier, and when they touched, Fletcher "just lit up." and one of the guys was keeping them down, trying to keep them calm. slow, or tripped over equipment, or had no place to go. Among the survivors honored Monday was Lt. Col. Judson Nelson.

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They included instructors from the jumpmaster school; medics from Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices, Google Analytics (GA4) is a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited (Google). Naeyaert on the back of the head and threw him against the mock door; he fell Joel Myers. getting the static line from the parachute wrapped about your arm," Green Ramp contained the BDU and quenched the flames.

and conditioning definitely saved lives out there. The wreckage of a C-141 aircraft at Pope Air Force Base after being hit by an out-of-control F-16 on March 23, 1994.

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