The pilot is in stable condition and is receiving follow-on care, the base said.
The Thunderbirds alternate with the Navy Blue Angels in headlining each year’s CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show. The team performed at the show last summer and will likely perform in 2027. The Blue Angels will be the headliners at the show next June.
A Thunderbirds F-16 flipped off a rain-soaked runway at Dayton International Airport in June 2017. Air Combat Command later blamed the incident on “excess airspeed and insufficient stopping distance on a wet runway,” saying the incident happened “after a familiarization sortie for the crewmember, during which the pilot demonstrated the capabilities of the F-16D.”
Thunderbirds pilot Maj. Erik “Speedy” Gonsalves later told the Dayton Daily News that he thought: “You’re not going to die here. You may lose your leg but you’re not going to die.”
Gonsalves did not lose his leg but he later admitted that it was one of his fears in the minutes following the impact. “I remember looking at my left leg and I couldn’t feel it,” he said. “So I was like, ‘Oh my God is this still attached?’”
Gonsalves suffered two broken ribs, a fractured leg and ankle, and a torn patella tendon in his knee from the crash.
The Thunderbirds were created in 1953. They have performed at well over 4,000 airshows before more than 300 million people.
Flying jets in close formation is inherently dangerous. Here’s a brief look at some of the team’s accidents from Thunderbirds history.
Dec. 11, 1954: Capt. George Kevil killed during solo training.
Sept. 26, 1957: 1Lt. Bob Rutte killed during solo training.
Oct. 9, 1958: 19 people are killed when the team’s cargo plane crashes, making it the worst accident in Thunderbird history.
March 12, 1959: Capt. C. D. “Fish” Salmon killed during solo training.
July 27, 1960: Capt. J. R. Crane killed during a solo proficiency flight.
April 6, 1961: Maj. Robert S. Fitzgerald and Capt. George Nial killed during training.
May 9, 1964: Capt. Eugene J. Devlin killed during a three-plane formation pass.
Oct. 12, 1966: Maj. Frank Liethen and Capt. Robert Morgan killed during a collision of two F-100s.
Jan. 9, 1969: Capt. Jack Thurman killed during solo training.
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