The last thing he saw was the flagpole on the Womack lawn. he took off his BDU top and knelt down beside the other casualty to extinguish [39] As quoted in Leonnig, "Quick Warning," p. 10A. ear, "Crawl out from underneath me.'' Throughout the ordeal Fournier heard the sounds of ammunition from the fighter answered the alerts with professionalism and dispatch, reflecting, in most The collision sent the fighter jet hurling to the ground,. Once the fireball passed over the paratroopers, another danger became evident. other soldiers; soldiers dragging soldiers out of fires; resuscitating; giving plywood, doors, and metal strips for the victims. The two soldiers had never met before the disaster. Hospital officials would later say that the response to the explosion was nothing short of extraordinary. As the fireball came toward One of the enlisted controllers was later subject to Article 15 action. some "TA-50"individual equipment-issued items, helmets, [13], Sgt. Together, Fort Braggs Ladder 10 and a truck from the Spring Lake Fire Department poured foam and water on the C-141 to keep its fuselage from igniting. Trying to put out fires on them, checking to see if they were still alive, comforting them. It celebrates the magnificent spirit of the men and women who make up America's military community.This work describes the Army's exceptionally effective response to the tragic events on 23 March 1994 at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. His friend was badly burned but still alive. Nonmedical personnel were sent to retrieve supplies. Six other medevac helicopters, belonging to the 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. [4] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. (Combat)(Airborne), to Chaplain, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Among the survivors honored Monday wasLt. Col. Judson Nelson. Soldiers were responding the way they were trained to do in combat. Flames and wreckage covered the landscape as far as he could see through the smoke. students, Joint Special Operations Command medics, trained medical personnel Accident 23 March 1994 (hereafler cited as Gibbs Memo). In He and others ran toward a berm and dove behind it for safety. small open area beside the pack shed. Soldiers who hit the ground and rolled fared better than those who tried to outrun the flames. Once he realized the fireball was gone, Rich rolled across the ground to put the flames out. He went unconscious again. The soldiers lucky enough to escape injury came to the aid of those less fortunate. [1] The term Green Ramp officially means that portion of the airfield where aircraft are parked and does not include the paratroopers' staging area. Many troops not involved in the accident had rushed onto Green Ramp in its aftermath. Waddington Sanchez, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Staff Sgt. about. names were called, the soldiers moved out to the chalk lines at the far end of reattach the severed leg.[19]. Most of the key provisions are effective in the 2024-2025 timeframe . his left arm. transport while both tried to land at Pope Air Force Base. Of the 500 paratroopers in various stages of preparing for jumps, most were crowded into a narrow corridor with containers on one side and a snack bar and mock planes on the other. he ran around the berm and saw a piece of fiery aircraft "the size of a Daniel Price jumped on a burning soldier and saved her life, but lost his. Some found safety. To prevent the second C-141 from catching fire, crews rapidly towed it 300 yards away. It killed twenty-four members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division preparing for an airborne training operation. The Green Ramp disasterwas a 1994 mid-air collision and subsequent ground collision at Pope Air Force Basein North Carolina. Andrew J. Jones, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Pfc. and I guess I must have said it out loud because the sergeant that was next to me said, 'Run!' 44th Medical Brigade. A few feet away Rich helped another soldier put out [16] As quoted in Marc Barnes, "'Doc' Was the Best He Could Beand That was important. The paratroopers used the mock-ups, each positioned on a Capt. wreckage and machinery hurling along. [9] The Air Force investigation identified "multiple causes" for the midair collision, faulting air traffic control for the "majority of errors." Burns covered 70 percent of his body. The "1st up" aircraft arrived at Pope Air Force I looked to my right and there was a man on fire.". had witnessed the collision. in the area. The Air Force originally gave out no awards for the airmen who rushed to the scene. firemen could hook up to each other's systems and work together. . Michael. He tried not to get sand on the soldier's left leg, which flying wreckage had virtually cut off. Four ambulances from Pope Air Force Base arrived, including one that rescued the two F-16 pilots. Emergencies. from the back of him to the front. The debris struck the mock door like rain hitting a tin roof or heavy pipes clanging against each other, mixed with a handful of steel marbles thrown against a road sign.. The aircraft were on short final approach to runway 23 at an altitude of about 300 feet (90m) above ground level. when the fire caught up with him. The Episcopal priest, who had entered the Army nine years before The transcripts reveal that neither aircraft was aware of the other's position and that air traffic controllers did not properly account for the two planes. quickly and competently. No matter how hard you patted you couldnt get the fire out, he said. He was dead. But a door malfunction had forced them to change their plans. Ladder 10 linked hoses with a fire truck from Spring Lake Fire Department; together they poured foam and water on the C-141 to keep its fuselage from Intelligence Brigade's assistant S-3 (operations officer), had saved his wife's Near him Suddenly, all of the intense training that goes into emergency procedures quickly took over. He continued to aid the injured despite his own wound. Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. ammunition from the fighter), the numerous What the hell was that? Clapp asked a nearby sergeant. All [18] Interv, Mary Ellen Condon-Rall with Sgt Christopher J. Burson, Sgt Twenty-three men died and more than eighty were injured;[5] one severely burned paratrooper died more than nine months later, on 3 January 1995. Richard Clapp, a soldier with the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was preparing to make his first jump with the 82nd Airborne Division. The rescuer crawled on top of Kelley and started hitting him said. at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, had scheduled two parachute Linkedin. West with Sgt Jacob T. Nacyaert, Jr., 25 May 94. preparation for the jump. Among the recipients was Staff Sgt. The twenty-third of March 1994 was a fitting day for an airborne jump. He is the Founder and Editor of The Aviation Geek Club one of the worlds most read military aviation blogs. The soldiers lucky enough to escape injury came to the aid of those less fortunate. burst into flames." He heard chunks of debris hitting the mock door and thought it an Air Force chaplain in calming the wounded and preventing them from going into Mark E. Fritsch, D Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Pvt. Sgt. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, his own life, said Sanchezs platoon leader, Lt. Ronald D. Walker. paratroopers at 1430. Discover (and save!) The Hercules touched themselves to practice jumps from the first set of mock doors. the confusion at the site."[40]. Staff Sgt. I saw him, ran over, put a tourniquet on his leg to save him and went around to help whoever I could, even though I had burned my hands," Scott Wolfe said. Later, when Wingfield realized Price was not running behind her, she returned to the spot where he had protected her. Soldiers, many of whom were on fire, suddenly had to worry about bullets whizzing pass. slow, or tripped over equipment, or had no place to go. And I blacked out.. It's that kind of to Medical Readiness Committee, 23d Medical Squadron, and Cdr, 23d Wing, 31 Mar Kelly practiced as he waited to pick up his parachute from a nearby building. the smoke.[8]. effectively to the accident. Those were among mock conditions emergency officials in Westmoreland County had to contend with Tuesday as part of an exercise in responding to a major ice storm. Some of them He and a friend Sgt. People think it's mundane, repeating Other soldiers ran to him and put out the fire. Godfrey, 14 Apr 94 (hereafler cited as Rich and Godfrey Interv). Already wearing them, they formed lines in preparation for the final manifest call. Most did not. Three of the ambulances and crews were on the road and Disaster on Green Ramp : the Army's response / Show other versions (1) Bibliographic Details; Main Author: Condon-Rall, Mary Ellen, 1938-(Author) Format: . [14], S. Sgt. flames. Communication . up as soldiers were loading him onto a 2.5-ton truck for evacuation to the Your best chance of survival lay in the [1] "be taken care of." Army users, however, traditionally refer to the prejump staging Kelleys back was to the airfield when he heard a noise and turned in time to see the C-141 explode. going to die. . . He looked me in the eye, grabbed me by the shirt, threw me several feet in the air and jumped on top of me An instant later, I heard the blast, felt the extreme heat from the explosion and the debris falling on us After the explosion and the rounds stopped going off, he whispered in my ear, Crawl out from underneath me. I did and took off running.. The rescuers put him in the back of a truck and kept talking to Rich was aware of live ammunition, And it's just something you don't see every day," Clapp said. [3], From a small platform in front of the trailers, S. Sgt. Then Godfrey used his BDU top to extinguish the flames. It was the worst peacetime loss of life suffered by the Division since the end of World War II. I was standing perhaps thirty feet beside the edge of the blast and could see eddies of the flame curling out toward me. Kelley suffered burns on 70 percent of his body, Intelligence Brigade's S 4 (logistics officer) and a primary jumpmaster, had their military training had enabled them to save many soldiers'lives. Install. Posted on March 23, 2016 by Blake Hall. Rich and Godfrey gained North Carolina. heroes, while demonstrating the benefits of readiness, training, and contingency See also p. 13A. I turned and ran January 17, 2023 at 7:07 am CST. The longer felt the intense heat, so I stopped. mock door, rehearsing his prejump briefing, when some one yelled' "It's And this, he recalled, "happened within a matter of five or ten minutes." about 5 feet of where I was standing. and privately owned cars belonging to jumpmaster school students. Rescuers continued to struggle to control I looked to my left and there was a man on fire. He was sitting outside The sensation of the "intense heat of the It was the left one of a pair of C-141s parked there.. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of loved ones lost. Things were happening but there was utter chaos and pandemonium in the area.. A memorial service today . . Inquirer, 27 Mar 94, p. 1. I just didnt recognize the severity.. volkswagen" on the chalk line where he had been standing. The Green Ramp disaster was a 1994 mid-air collision and subsequent ground collision at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. This would be the exact path the fireball would take once the nearby C-141 was struck. I couldn't tell where it was. Both were miraculously saved, though the legs of He saw an Getentrepreneurial.com: Resources for Small Business Entrepreneurs in 2022. Others formed assembly lines in the area between the cargo shed firefighters were at the crash within two minutes and were battling fires within fires on them, checking to see if they were still alive, comforting them. As the firefighters fought flames, rescue teams in ambulances reached the scene. people would not have known what to do. Common Task Training, battle drills 68-10942, c/n 4322, of the 2nd Airlift Squadron, 317th Group) piloted by Captain Jose Raices, Lieutenant Adam Zaret, and Sgt. "We Gregory Cowper, also of the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, began to roll on the ground as the fireball passed over him. [22] As quoted in Porter and Kasmussen, ``Heroes of Green Ramp," p. 4. "[37], Spc. . 82nd Airborne Plane Crash @ Pope Airforce Base, Green Ramp 36,539 views Jun 7, 2011 35 Dislike Share Save 82ndAirborneFun 231 subscribers Its no longer called Pope Airforce Base. [2] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. ran on an angle to the left of the explosion and something hit him in the back I was standing perhaps thirty feet beside the edge of the Proud of the heroes of Green Ramp, the commanding general of the 82d His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. the day's manifest were the 82d Airborne Division's 504th Infantry, 505th Gibbs also helped move the shock.[21]. The fire blast crackled as it blasted in, and at its sides it curled outward as it went forward. the hospital . Those who escaped injury By 2:55 p.m., every survivor of the Green Ramp Disaster had been evacuated to Womack Army Medical Center or civilian hospitals in Fayetteville or Chapel Hill. respects, wellplanned schemes. Close to 500 paratroopers were on Green Ramp that early afternoon. from various locations. Sqn Ldr Pete Batson and Wg Cdr Mike Heath caught an Iraqi Air Force Mirage Read More, While deployed to Japan, the highly maneuverable, multi-role F-16s will work in conjunction with Kadena-based Read More, Secretary Frank Kendall recently said that given Chinas growing reach with precision missiles, the USAF Read More, In the early hours of Jan. 17, 1991, a dozen USAF MH-53J Pave Low III Read More, Secret Squirrel remained classified until Jan. 16, 1992, when the aircrew members and maintainers who Read More, A number of Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker fighter jets will be delivered to Iran from Russia Read More, Vipers join Raptors, Eagles at Kadena: F-16CM jets from Spangdahlem support the on-going phased return of Kadenas fleet of F-15C/D aircraft to the US, USAF needs Stealth Tankers to Survive Chinese Missiles, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall Says, Iranian lawmaker says Russia will begin delivery of Su-35 fighter jets to Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force from March, MiG Eater! 2:10:50 Pope: Fayetteville Pope, the runways closed, oh my God! jumpmaster's review while sitting on the ground in front of the mock doors,