F-102A Delta Dagger Crash Site

April 12th 2020





Summery :

 The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft that was built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s.

This F-102A (#56-1369) was assigned to the 186 Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Montana Air National Guard, Great Falls International Airport, Montana.

On Dec.28th 1971, call sign RELAX 06 departed Great Falls IAP and completed flights to Hill AFB, Utah and Luke AFB, Arizona.
Upon landing at Luke AFB, the pilot Lt Colonel Peterson asked that the hydraulic reservoirs be checked because he had experienced some flight control difficulties.
The crew cheif suggested that air might be in the system but was ruled out by Lt.Colonel Peterson after they inspected the hydraulic fluid level which was at the proper level.
So, No maintenance was performed.
On Dec.30th, Lt.Colonel Peterson arrivced at Nellis Base at early afternoon then departed about 2.5 hours later.
About 5 minutes after the take off, RELAX 06 advised LA center that he was having severe control oscillations and would return to Nellis. He was cleared to make a left turn back to Nellis.
20 seconds later, he shout 'Jesus Christ!'.
LA center made several transmissons, but no further response.

Aircraft was completely destroyed at ground impact.
The pilot, Lt. Col. Ralph C. Peterson, ejected safely from the aircraft.

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Aircraft crashed near the top of the hill and wrecks were spread out for wide area over the steep hillside.
There are still hundreds of wrecks at the site. Many wrecks are finger - hand size, but some wrecks are foot - few feet long.



    
Description



Manufacturer:
Convair
Base model:
F-102
Version:
A
Nickname:
Delta Dagger
Designation System:
U.S. Air Force
Designation Period:
1956-1979
Basic role:
Intercepter
Serial Number:
56-1369
Year built:
1956
Crash Date:
1971/12/30
Fatalities:
0




Specifications



Length:
68' 4" 20.83 m
Height:
21' 2.5" 6.46 m
Wingspan:
38' 1" 11.61 m
Wingarea:
695.0 sq ft 64.6 sq m
Empty Weight:
19,350 lb 8,777 kg
Gross Weight:
24,494 lb 11,110 kg





Propulsion



No. of Engines:
1
Powerplant:
Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 afterburning turbojet
Thrust (each):
11,700 lb





Performance



Max Speed:
805 mph 1,328 km/h 717 kt
Ceiling:
53,400 ft 16,300 m


    
Other F-102 Link :
 Wikipedia Link : Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
    



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