The B-52 aircraft crash at Fairchild Air Force Base was a fatal air crash that occurred on June 24, 1994, killing the four crew members of a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 Stratofortress during a training flight. In the crash, Bud Holland, who was the command pilot of the aircraft based at Fairchild Air Force Base, call sign Czar 52, flew the aircraft beyond its operational parameters and lost control. As a result, the aircraft stalled, impacted the ground, and was completely destroyed. Video of the crash was shown throughout the United States on news broadcasts. The accident investigation concluded that the chain of events leading to the crash was primarily attributable to Holland's personality and behavior, USAF leaders' reactions to it, and the sequence of events during the mishap flight of the aircraft. Today, the crash is used in military and civilian aviation environments as a case study in teaching crew resource management. Also, the crash is often used by the USAF during safety training as an example of the importance of compliance with safety regulations and correcting the behavior of anyone who violates safety procedures.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1314: Scotland regained independence as forces led by Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II of England in the Battle of Bannockburn. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bannockburn)

1894: Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio assassinated Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of the French Third Republic, after Carnot delivered a speech at a public banquet in Lyon, France. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Fran%C3%A7ois_Sadi_Carnot)

1947: First widely-reported post-World War II sighting of UFOs: American businessman and pilot Kenneth Arnold saw nine luminous disks in the form of saucers flying above the U.S. state of Washington near Mount Rainier. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Arnold)

1948: The Soviet Union blocked access to the American, British, and French sectors of Berlin, cutting off all rail and road routes going into Soviet-controlled territory in Germany. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

Absurdity, n. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion. -- Ambrose Bierce (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce)