Thanks Obama' -- Internet trolls blame president for Thunderbird crash

While the investigation into the cause of an Air Force Thunderbirds crash in Colorado Springs is ongoing, the internet has found someone to blame: President Barack Obama.

It appears to be a thoroughly fictional tale.

The rumor, floating around in several forms, says Obama’s late arrival at Air Force Academy graduation June 2 – or some other presidential misstep -- caused Thunderbird 6 to run out of fuel and crash into a field south of the Colorado Springs Airport.

“The entire flight ran low on fuel and being number six for landing he was on fumes and elected to head it for a field where he put it down as he ejected,” one version sent to me several times says.

And the president, according to the rumor, arrogantly ignored the pilot’s fate.

“Meanwhile Obama blithely goes his way with nary an apology,” the email said.

Here are two big problems with the account:

Thunderbird six had plenty of fuel. Air Force crews had to pump more than 100 gallons of fuel from the plane’s internal tanks before the wreckage was hauled back to a Peterson Air Force Base hangar.
Using the most conservative math, Thunderbird 6 had enough fuel to make a safe landing in Wyoming.

The second problem: “Obama blithely goes his way” fails to take into account how the president changed his motorcade route so he could stop and meet with Maj. Alex Turner, the pilot of the doomed plane.

Some other issues: I’ve flown with the Thunderbirds and they are serious, steely-eyed checklisters. If they were running low on fuel, they would have cut their show over the academy short.


Some versions on the internet cite “tower traffic” as the source. I’ve listened to the tapes and can’t find it.

I’ve talked to some pretty smart people, and they say Thunderbird 6 likely suffered an engine failure.

There are parts of the internet story that are true: Obama was in Colorado Springs and a Thunderbird did crash.

The rest I’d take as urban legend until the facts are in. The Air Force investigation could take until August, sources say.