The accident report was very controversial. As the only TAC unit other than the 'Birds flying the T-38, the 479th TFW at Holloman was tasked to supply both the Flying Safety Officer member and Pilot member to the accident investigation board. Both pilots were out of my unit, the 435th TFTS.

The initial report of the board was a finding of pilot error. The lead aircraft had topped out on the loop at an altitude below the minimum required to insure a safe recovery. Failure to recognize the altitude and continuation of the maneuver to the pull through meant that after reaching about 60 degrees nose low inverted, the formation was in a position from which recovery was no longer possible.

There was evidence reported that the control stick and linkages were deformed probably due to pilot effort to pull through at whatever G was available. When the report was submitted, General Creech returned it and reconvened the board with the statement that "Thunderbirds do not commit pilot errors." Command guidance was to come up with another cause.

That was when the "shock absorber" was invented as the culprit. What made the report a laughingstock for T-38 pilots (although acceptable to Gen. Creech and the general public) was the fact that with 160 AT-38B aircraft on the ramp at Holloman, with at least 1000 maintainers and more than 200 Talon IPs on the base and with more than 20 years experience operating the airplane for the USAF, no one had ever before heard of the "shock absorber" and no one could find any reference to such a gadget in the control system schematics.