Crash blamed on disorientation

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- An investigative board concluded that spatial disorientation caused a plane crash in Africa that killed four airmen. Capt. Ryan P. Hall, Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock, 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens and Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten of Hurlburt Field died Feb. 18 when their U-28A troop support aircraft crashed near Ambouli International Airport in Djibouti. Spatial disorientation is the failure to correctly sense the position, motion or attitude of the aircraft in relation to the surface. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 10/25/12) Previous