LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Just weeks before Maj. Stephen Del Bagno was killed in a crash this week in his F-16 Fighting Falcon at the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds training facility, he and other members of the flight team were preparing for the 2018 show season.
WATCH: John Bedell flies with the Thunderbirds
“I’ll work on the width spacing and the line abreast and the high BB rejoin getting closer to show center. Four,” Del Bagno said during a briefing before a training flight News Center 7 was invited to attend in late March at the Nevada Test and Training Range at Creech Air Force Base.
Del Bagno was referring to the element of the show he wanted to perfect during the training flight.
Del Bagno, also known as Thunderbird 4, was killed Wednesday during a practice flight over the Nevada Test and Training Range.
"We are mourning the loss of Major Del Bagno," said Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing Commander. "He was an integral part of our team and our hearts are heavy with his loss. We ask everyone to provide his family and friends the space to heal during this difficult time."
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The veteran pilot, who spoke with reporter John Bedell on the flight line at Nellis Air Force base at the Thunderbirds training facility in March, talked about his background as an F-35 pilot prior to joining the Thunderbirds.
Del Bagno was the first person with a history of flying the fifth-generation fighter (F-35) to suit up in a Thunderbirds uniform to take flight as part of the stunt team.
Following Wednesday’s crash, the Thunderbirds canceled the team’s participation in the expo at March Air Reserve Base and it is still unclear how the crash will impact the remainder of the team’s 2018 season.
The team was last grounded following a mishap after a Thunderbirds F-16 flipped onto its top prior to the team’s performance at the Vectren Dayton Air Show last June.
“It definitely wouldn’t have been appropriate for us to perform the air show there,” Lt. Col. Kevin Walsh told Bedell in March. “From there it was...let’s figure out what has happened in order to prevent it from happening again, so that we can move on and continue to do shows in a safe manner.”
Del Bagno’s death is the first time a Thunderbirds pilot was killed during a flight since 1982, when four pilots were killed in a crash at the Nevada Test and Training Range.
In this news agency’s two day visit to the Thunderbirds training facility, we learned the inside details of what goes into the preparations for the flight team’s air show season.
The Thunderbirds run through their show up to three times a day from November to March.
Lt. Col. Kevin Walsh is Thunderbird 1 and leads the pilots in a briefing before each practice.
After each briefing, the team heads to the flight line at Nellis Air Force Base, where maintenance crews meet the team and inspect the F-16s prior to take off to fly to the team’s practice range. The range is located about an hour drive away from Nellis Air Force Base.
The team had only performed during one air show this season before Wednesday’s crash.
