AVIATION HISTORY MONTH! #BLMhistory The last piston-engine fighter aircraft ordered into production by the U.S. Air Force, the unique F-82 Twin Mustang provided an important bridge from the propeller age to the jet age of American air power. On the afternoon of January 16, 1950, an F-82 crashed near Fairbanks, #Alaska during a routine training exercise. Both crew members died. In 2008, nearly sixty years later, #BLM archaeologists became aware that the planes wreckage had recently been looted for its rare aircraft parts (only five of the aircraft are known to exist today). Working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fairbanks, the BLM launched a five-year investigation that resulted in a legal settlement with the salvager, who had not obtained a permit before disturbing the site. Funds from the settlement will go toward interpretive signs at the nearby Fort Wainwright air base explaining the role of the F-82 in #Alaska aviation history and honoring the sacrifices of the two deceased airmen. Other funds will go toward protecting the integrity of the numerous historic aviation crash sites on #Alaskas public lands. Photos: F-82 Twin Mustang in flight. (US Air Force photo) A member of an archaeological assessment team inspects the wreckage of a F-82 Twin Mustang on public land near Fairbanks, Alaska, in May 2014. The plane crashed during a training mission on January 16, 1950. By Robin Mills (BLM)
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 19:05:01 +0000
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