Remembering Bud Holland. He flew B-52s.
Today is June 24, 2014. It was on this date twenty years ago that my next-door neighbor crashed one of the biggest, most powerful aircraft ever built into near a nuclear storage facility, leaving his kids fatherless and his wife a widow.
With more than 5,000 flight hours under his belt, U.S. Air Force Colonel Bud Holland took his last flight on this day in 1994.
I was 19, home from Washington State University for summer break and working at KXLY News. I worked the early morning shift and was leaving work around 10 or 11 when the call came across the police scanner. Possible plane crash near Fairchild Air Force Base. A few minutes later, reports that it was one of the B-52 Stratofortresses still stationed at the base. We knew the annual air show was coming up that weekend, and speculated about a training accident. We sent some photographers, but couldn’t fully grasp the magnitude of what happened until the footage started coming back to the newsroom.
At first, it was nothing but minute after minute of thick, black smoke, fire coiling up from hotspots in the wreckage and dozens of emergency vehicles surrounding a charred tail section. It was all that remained of the once-crowning achievement in America’s Cold War arsenal. After the flames were finally doused and the investigation began, it soon became clear that all four crewmen had died in the horrific crash…and it was all caught on videotape (warning…this is video of the actual crash).
The newsroom erupted in a frenzy of activity. Having just worked a full shift, I was on my way out the door and decided there wasn’t much I could do to help anyway. I hopped on my motorcycle and headed north, back to our home in the Fairwood neighborhood of north Spokane. When I turned the corner onto Elmwood Street, I saw half a dozen of our neighbors standing outside the Holland’s house next door to ours. I waved as I drove by and pulled into our driveway. Upon entering, I told my mother about what had happened that morning but she already knew. And she told me that Bud was flying that plane.
Bud and Sarah Holland were the parents of Heather, a year younger than I, and Meg, a year younger than my little brother. They were the first people we met when we moved into the neighborhood in 1988, and we spent many a summer together in the community pool behind our houses and just as many winters attacking each others’ forts with snowballs. Our driveway had a basketball hoop embedded in the concrete, and the Holland girls would frequently stop by for a game of HORSE or Around the World.
One time in particular, I remember Bud coming over to collect his girls before the family headed out to eat. He had injured his forearm in some frightening way, and it was held together by a plastic medical brace with a dozen metal pins punching through his skin and screwed into his bones. It was terrifying to look at, but the man acted like it was an everyday occurrence. He was always nice to us boys – nicer than I would be raising teenage girls – and I remember thinking how much he reminded me of Chuck Yeager. Well, the Chuck Yeager character played by Sam Shepard in The Right Stuff.
He was also the caretaker of the community pool nearly in our backyard. We, along with the Hollands, were closer in proximity to the pool than any other of the neighbors on the three streets that utilized it, and we often felt like it was ours. There were many evenings we’d be eating dinner in the sunroom and could see Bud closing up the pool for the evening. When I was old enough, I took a part-time job closing up the pool as well and it was Bud who showed me how to do everything…check the PH levels and add chemicals when necessary, scoop the dead bugs and leaves out, pull the cover over the pool and reel it back up again in the morning. He really seemed like a nice guy and a good dad.
When the crash investigation concluded, I was introduced to a much different version of Bud Holland in the media. Arthur “Bud” Holland, was apparently known for being a “hotstick” pilot who enjoyed pushing aircraft beyond their operational limits. In his last flight, Bud was found to have lost control and the aircraft stalled, fell to the ground and exploded. Holland, Lieutenant Colonel Mark C. McGeehan, the 38-year-old copilot, Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth S. Huston, the flight’s 41-year-old radar navigator, and 41-year-old Colonel Robert E. Wolff, acting as safety observer, were all killed instantly. (Source: HistoryLink.org…a great article on this story. Be sure to check it out)
The subsequent investigation concluded that the chain of events leading to the crash was primarily attributable to three factors: Holland’s personality and behavior, USAF leaders’ delayed or inadequate reactions to earlier incidents involving Holland, and the sequence of events during the aircraft’s final flight. The crash is now used in military and civilian aviation environments as a case study in teaching crew resource management. It is also often used by the U.S. armed forces during aviation safety training as an example of the importance of compliance with safety regulations and correcting the behavior of anyone who violates safety procedures. (Source: Video description from above)
Footnote: It wasn’t until I read the HistoryLink article cited above that I learned beneath near the wreckage of Col. Holland’s B-52 on that fateful day was a top-secret underground storage facility for nuclear weapons. Can you imagine what might have happened? (Thanks to reader, Ileana, who pointed out that there was apparently an area of restricted air space on the other side of the tower from the crash site and it is presumably under that space that the storage facility is located.)
Update: I recently added a podcast episode about Bud Holland that you can listen to here…
Earlier in the year Holland had circled above his daughter’s softball game. And just like in this crash, he exceeded the operational limits of the plane by banking too steeply in a turn and stalled the plane. He dropped a thousand feet from 2500 to 1500 before he thankfully regained control. Obviously this taught him, and this is superiors, nothing. All those lauding him as a nice guy and a great dad that’s fine, but other behaviors by him, the poor piloting and even his inability to follow the rules and park in regular parking spots at the base point to an arrogant, rule breaking, inconsiderate jerk.
Anyone know if LtC Holland flew in Linebacker II? When I read that he had flown in SEA it made me curious if he had participated in those missions. The stories about Bud before the crash are fascinating and I would enjoy reading more about his career as well as his colleague’s and neighbors experiences with him and the Air Force during that time period. Bud was flawed and controversial, but he had to have done a few things right to get to where he was. It would be interesting to see his career and the events leading up to where Darker Shades picks up,
Wow.
You sicken me and shame yourself with this hero worship of your little tin god! I hope he is having a lasting experience with fire and brimstone.
People really love blanketly bashing Bud’s entire career at the stick because of this incident. Yeah – he screwed up here, and but good – and it cost people their lives. No doubt about it – assign the blame there 110% and it absolutely could have and should have been avoided. He made some very wrong, stupid and very bad decisions this day. However – gravedancing 20+ after the fact serves absolutely no purpose… and is not a proper reflection of SAC & personnel. Folks in the AF and former personnel especially ought to damn well know better.
As soon as this incident happened the entire brass structure from one end of AF to the other condemned him, his career, made note of “his history of recklessness”, saying his wings shoulda been pulled years ago, blah blah blah. Of course the entire rank & file jumped right on board this bandwagon – and here we are more than 20 years later and people are still bringing this up in the manner reflected in many of the comments here, and continue to take pot shots at a dead man and his entire flying career.
But here is something that most people don’t know (or refuse to acknowledge)… the very people in the command structure who condemned his entire career after the crash were the very ones who were endorsing, promoting, encouraging and exploiting it & his flying for years prior. Yes, I said exploiting, and it was also essentially stated in the book “Daker shades of blue”. Let that simmer for a moment, while I continue below…
Bud pushed limits. He flew the big bird in a manner which would give even fighter jocks pause. “Wow I didn’t know the Buff could do that,” was often a response to some of the things he did with it – up to and including climbing from 400 to 12,000AGL at 80 degrees. Yes, you read that correctly – EIGHTY. In a B-52. He not only did it once – he did it twice, shattering world records in the process (which still stand) and making the 52 do something that to this day Boeing engineers themselves claim it cannot do – despite the video evidence.
As soon as the brass started becoming aware of Bud’s ability to make the big bird dance, however – they embraced it. Not once did Bud get written up. Not once did he reprimanded. Not once did anyone on his crew object, raise a red flag with command or refuse to fly with him or request reassignment – all contrary to claims that came out after the crash. Not once did he get grounded and not once did he have his wings taken away or was he stripped of his command. Instead – he, his plane and his crew were put at the top of the list across all of the AF for exhibition duty. Many, many times he was sent clear across the country or beyond to conduct flyovers and a handful of exhibition maneuvers for high-ranking military officials, dignitaries, politicians, other VIPs, photo & video shoots, military academy graduations, sporting events, AF open houses & air shows, etc, etc etc – ALL of which had to be reviewed and APPROVED by wing and/or base commanders & flight ops before being conducted. Dozens upon dozens in a 5+ year span – way more than anyone else in a 52 – and at the behest of senior command across the AF. Yes – the very damn people who later lambasted him, his style and his entire career only moments after this fatal crash.
Now – regarding his having been reported… the funny part was none of these “reports” existed until after the crash. There wasn’t a single record of a complaint until afterwards. Hot on the heels of all the very same brass who once praised him turned to bashing him… suddenly some reports started to surface. Funnier still is that none of the names on those reports came from anyone who was still active military and none of them would comment when questioned by the press and the public. I’ll bet my pension that as part of the CYA moves by the praising & bashing brass they suddenly produced a lot of back-dated reports that did not exist previously. This is how the military brass has always operated whenever something they endorse blows up in their face. CYA. Pretty sure there was an official DOD form # for that, even. 🙂
And any way you slice it – that’s patent, two-faced bullshit. If one word of how they felt were true – any one of them could have him ripped out of the sky at any moment. Instead – every single one of them is guilty of not only making sure he flew – but also in the manner in which they were all too aware of. We all know damn well that those commanders were in 100% CYA mode at the moment – and nothing else.
In 1989 I myself filmed Bud for Combat Camera / AVS / WING-TV5 doing a low pass and other maneuvers at KI Sawyer a couple days before the Open House. We discussed it beforehand and I knew straight away he would be coming in quite low and hot. His crew was happy and eager to be a part of the shoot and the kind of flying he was going to be doing. They had nothing but praises for him and they all got along splendidly. Nobody is that good of an actor – least of all aircrew. Even though I knew he was going to be coming low – I too still ducked. Not because I was afraid… but because of instinct. To this day – I will say it is the single best & coolest low-pass experience I have ever had… and I have been fortunate enough to be privy to more than a few of them. I also managed to record him in a 60 degree climb that day. This was a few years before he was videoed two different times doing 80 degree climbs at Fairchild. The 52 pilots that were standing in front of Base Ops with me at the time I filmed it were all saying things like “that’s amazing”, “wow” or “incredible”. Not one of them I heard had anything negative to say at the time.
Look – military aviation has always pushed boundaries. It is the very nature of what they do. We would not be anywhere near where we are today in airpower prowess if not. Everything from RATOing an antique, prop-driven cargo plane to Combat TOs in a C-17 to cutting loose bombs while under hard thrust in a -90 dive to our voyage through breaking the sound barrier (which even shattered an F-14 like a sheet of tempered glass in front of hundreds of witnesses on the USS John Paul Jones as recently as 1995). Every single one of these situations – and dozens if not hundreds more – resulted in the deaths of crew. It is an inherent risk of pushing limits and everyone in between from Havilland in ’52 to Holland in ’94 knew it.
No – it by no means excuses Holland’s poor decisions & stupidity that day which resulted in the tragic loss of some very fine men. But it also doesn’t warrant the complete wrecking of the man and his entire career. It didn’t happen to many of the other pilots who got themselves and/or crews killed. Every single one of those pilots were put in the air at those times for the actions they were to be performing by senior command because those commanders believed they were the right pilot for the job.
There are many facets to this situation and how it unfolded – as well as many facets to his lengthy and until then successful career. Bashing his entire 20+ year time at the stick, and 5000 hours on the Buff alone is not only myopic, but is indeed unjust and constitutes nothing more than gravedancing. So how about enough of that?
F— Bud holland, the murderer.
According to a 1997 book on curious “accidents” caused by an invisible high-tech power that has actively prevented global nuclear war many times, the flying fortress was hit by the hidden UFO power as a warning to the criminal US leadership. It was deliberately incapacitated in flight to crash very near a top-secret underground storage facility for nuclear weapons the US military claims it does not have. The UFO power has done this with many other secret nuclear weapons facilities, in Russia, China, and the US before this event and since. Sorry about your friend having to take the fall for our “leaders”‘ criminality. I personally believe Bud was a casualty of the situation and innocent of any wrong-doing.
Very interesting points, indeed, Mr. Earl-Graef. Thank you for contributing to this conversation!
Has anyone in this section stopped to ask themselves a simple question that if answered begins to unravel the mystery? If Bud Holland had this reputation as a rogue and dangerous pilot why would the vice wing commander choose to fly with him on his Fini-Flight and invite his family to be there to celebrate when they landed? I know 100% Lt.Col Wolff asked to be on that flight because I was supposed to sit in the jump seat and Bud asked me if it was OK that the vice wing commander sit that position instead for his Fini-Flight and I agreed. The three crew that died on that day were all on that flight because they chose to be there. The reason they made that decision to fly that sortie is that they all had supreme confidence in Bud’s flying ability. He was the best of the best and that is why the USAF pushed to perform these dangerous flight profiles which I actually flew with him on one occasion. When we landed the aircraft there was not a sole to speak of around the Thunderbirds that were there because they all wanted to meet and greet the crew of the B52. There is much much more to this story that I could tell. But the USAF narrative they sold you about “command failure” is a lie. It simply does not fit.
I can only pray a complete investigation was done and the leadership, that allowed him to continue flying after the numerous reports, were disciplined. If you take a step back, it’s really those responsible for not taking him off flight duty who are accountable for those four lost lives. That leadership should be in prison!
Bud Holland was a classmate of mine at UPT. He was a difficult personality and he was disliked by the IPs. I think this may have led to him having a chip on his shoulders when his class ranking was clearly not going to get him the ride he desired. I don’t know much about psychology, but I wonder if this may have led to his unprofessional driving of the G on several occasions. I could never figure him out. There was something under the surface that seemed to be an inferiority complex and/or an anger management and frustration issue. His fellow students and many of the IPs picked up on this too. There was so much pressure to fill slots at that time that I wonder if they simply pushed him through to fill a seat.
Something else to consider….Holland was apparently someone who had “authority issues”.
Put these things together, A man with narcisisstic personality disorder, combined with depression over his impending retirement, and a man with authority issues. Also a man who was flying with a co-pilot who had tried to get him grounded on no less than three occassions.
THIS IS NOT A REAL QUOTE:
“Well I was toying with the idea of killing myself, but not in front of the wife and kids. Then on test day, they filled my plane up with brass, who I resent anyway, and that guy who tried to get me fired from the line three times – they made that guy my co-pilor for my last ever show for christ sakes. They should be worshipping me and honouring me and instead they force McGeehan on me for my last show and he’s there only to do one thing – clip my wings one last time. How much of an insult could you get, he tried to get me grounded. Thats when I knew I was definitely going to do it on that day. “. –
I could well imagine a man suffering with the issues from my first paragraph having this as a decision making thought.
Look at the footage at 1.08. He’s got alierons down, in a 90 degree bank at 250ft. That’s the hallmark of a man who knew what he was doing. I am utterly convinced that Bud “snapped” at the stick and decided in the moment that this was going to be his last flight. I’m thinking it was pre-meditated. It’s very telling to me that he decided the end would come on a test day the day before a show and not at the show itself, because his wife and kids were going to be at that show. This was his last chance to commit suicide without doing it with his loved ones watching it.
As an aside I’ll just say this. Every time I watch the video I am convinced that the manouver was a deliberate suicide attempt. Holland was apparently just months from retirement. Hotdog’s never retire and they need that constant buzz. It would not surprise me if Holland was suffering from depression, knowing his career, and his only way to get that buzz was coming to an end. I don’t deny that he was a good father, but plenty of good father’s and husbands have committed suicide. Those are usually the ones people are lefting asking “why”, because a lot of times, the depression was very well covered up and the act of suicide would seem “out of character”. What people who say things like “it was out of character for him” are not getting, is that the mental state of people can change when they are faced with a life changing event. Holland was a buzz seeker, and probably for someone like him, nothing could replace the buzz of a B-52 flown like a maniac.
Look how deliberate the manouver looks. There is ZERO attempt to recover. It actually looks chillingly like the plane was doing exactly what he asked it to do.
It’s something to consider. Just bear this in mind. When the Las Vegas shooting spree guy did his act, even some of his close friends and family were saying they would never have guessed it from him, and that he was hiding his issues to a professional level. Might be worth considering that Holland couldn’t face life without his B-52 fix.
I’d like to know a little less about Holland and a little more about McGeehan. Bud Holland to me is just a warning from history, not someone I want to remember unless it’s a lesson in how not to cream a B-52 into the ground, then his memory becomes valid. I can appreciate that people are multi-faceted, but they’re also consistent. I dont think you knew the real Bud Holland, I think you knew the Bud Holland that Bud Holland wanted you to see. Because while it is true that people are multi-faceted, people never really know which facet they’re dealing with and whether it’s the real essence of the man.
The real essence of a person comes out in high pressure situations, not in every day situations. You knew one facet of a man and you had that facet given to you in an everyday context. The real Bud Holland was behind those controls on that day. That’s where you really saw the mark of the man, and thats where he created his most lasting impression.
I think just as pointing out that people are multi faceted is an interesting point to make and not one I would say is invalid, it’s also true and as interesting that people’s perceptions of other people are not always accurate. You get what they want you to see. not who they are.
PTSD from Vietnam is entirely possible, Sam, but as a father myself, I can’t imagine Bud would have been intentionally committing suicide and leaving his wife and two young daughters forever. He loved his family, so far as I could tell from being his next door neighbor. In fact, he once buzzed a B-52 over his eldest girl’s softball game. Was the AF giving him enough rope? That’s probably true. Thanks for reading!
Maybe Bud committed suicide and homicide since his career at best was stalled after the recorded incidents and at worst going to end soon….And the man that had reported him was on the aircraft? And the man that held the power of his future was to fly but at the last minute, replaced? I believe the AF was giving him enough rope to end his career; however, he decided to take matters in his own hands. Also, Bud served in Vietnam, do you think he suffered from PTSD? Thank you for the article and conversation.
Thanks for sharing that memory, Joe!
I flew B-52s in late 80’s and early 90’s. I must say, there were a few pilots that push the plane beyond its intended design. We did walk away from those stunts and no one ‘reported’ the incident to higher authorities. The two incidents involved Lt. Col.’s who were either wing staff or Stan Eval and both were retiring and this was their last flight. I made sure I did not fly any more ‘last flights’ period after the second incident. The Fairchild incident is a prime example of this, a 46 year old Lt. Col. who was probably long in the tooth and passed over for Col. God Bless those who lost their lives.
You bring up a good point, Chris. Alcohol or drugs were never mentioned in the story, but it might explain some of the overconfident behavior. Thanks for your input!
Thanks for a great read. Having seen vids and reading about the near crashes, it seems this pilot was oddly detached from any “seat of the pants feel” of the aircraft considering all the hours he had in it. No fear. Good judgement totally gone. Confidence level skewed and believing he could do anything. Does this sound familiar to anyone? This guy flies just like I used to ride my dirt bike after a few drinks when I was young and dumb. A closet drinker that had a few shots to boost his ego and confidence before a flight? This would have been swept under the rug immediately I’m sure…..it was bad enough his superiors were allowing reckless flying…….if it ever got out he was drinking also they would really be tarred and feathered and it would look horrible for the Air Force.
You’re right about one thing, Jim. I don’t know about how that is done. But I don’t get angry about having facts corrected. That’s why I corrected the story later in the piece. Thanks for reading, and check out the podcast about Bud Holland here:The Life and Death of Arthur “Bud” Holland.
One would think if someone is in the business of disemination of FACTS, they would FIRST check to find out what the FACTS are! The aircraft DID NOT CRASH into a nuclear weapons storage facility. Oh, but some time later you retracted that statement after the gargage was diseminated! Secondly, if you knew the FACTS, you wouldn’t have spread this garbage about “what could have happened”. Yes, there is underground storage of nuclear weapons but what YOU don’t know is how that is done and I’m not at liberty to tell you! Go ahead and get angry!
Bud Holland was one of the best pilots in the US Air Force. He was bold, courageous, risky (yes I admit), but he was the master of the B-52 aircraft and nobody could deny this. All his superiors where always proud of his breathtaking maneuvers during air shows and this is why nobody ever wanted to ground him. He was the type of pilot that would be first to volunteer to go and throw nukes at a ‘no return’ mission against the Soviets or other US enemies. He had the courage, the skills, the boldness and the magic in his hands to do the unexpected. Unfortunately, the stupidity of the control tower which allowed him to take a 360 turn close to restricted air space killed him. He tried to follow the rules (for which everybody cries out) and reached the 90 deg angle in an effort to avoid the restricted air space. After this incident of course, everybody and his superiors remembered his risky flights as they did not want to be blamed etc etc. Till that moment everybody was proud of his unique skills. If he had not followed the rules trying to avoid the restricted air space (like he frequently did), he would be alive today and treated as a hero. This is the reality folks. Sorry. And please let’s see more photos of this guy. A really interesting and unique person.
At least no one has to salute the stupid bastard anymore.
Thank you for your fond memories of him. He made a terrible mistake and has served to teach the rest of us working in industries that can harm others that organizational culture must not cow to seniority simply for seniority’s sake. If we see something, we need to report it. It doesn’t matter how revered the employee is, if you have an unsafe employee who can cause harm to patients (I’m a nurse), you must put a stop to it. I’m truly sorry for his family’s loss as well as those of the other airmen on board and the one hurt on the ground. I understand the pain of the families who lost their loved ones to his decision that day. But I also believe it must have been so hard for his wife and daughters to go through this–they did nothing wrong and surely are hurt having to live with the animosity about Holland that we see even today.
I think air displays bring out the worst in risk taking. I was at an air display in the 90’s were the last flying UK Mosquito was rolled against all the accepted wisdom that even war time pilots NEVER rolled it at low level. The engine carburettors where starved of fuel and the engines gave out, flying speed was lost and an inverted stall ensued that the pilot almost but not quite recovered from with him and a passenger killed. Perhaps there out to be rules at air displays minimum altitudes, bank angles, prohibited manoeuvres etc with a 2 strikes and your out sanction. It happens time and again see the C-17 crash in Alaska nearly 20 years later. Its as much to do with the adrenaline of the moment and sensory overload provoking a lapse of judgement as anything else.
No apologies necessary, Chump! Thanks for your thought-provoking insight into this sad but educational story. There’s a lot about the man that no one but his immediate family will ever know, so all we’re left to do is speculate. If nothing else, Bud Holland is a polarizing figure in USAF history, and I’m sure the events that led to his death and the tragic death of his flight crew will continue to be studied, evaluated, and dissected for a long time to come.
Apologies for commenting on a 5 year-old article.
After watching a 1991-1994 compilation of Holland’s repeated show-off and regulations-violating maneuvers, it is clear to me that multiple different Air Force brass approved. The brass wanted dramatic flying to wow the crowds and to wow Washington brass, and they let Holland get away with whatever he wanted because he delivered. Holland knew that he was untouchable, and violated flight regulations and airframe limits because he knew that no other pilots would take the risks that he would take.
I also believe that the USAF brass was and continues to this day to be lax when it comes to discipline for repeated bad officer behavior, choosing to cover it up so as not to tarnish their own reputations and promotion potential as superior officers with a rogue under their command. There are multiple examples of this in the last decade, particularly having to do with nuclear weapon accountability and the ICBM missile officer cheating scandal.
Holland’s ego far outweighed his concern for his crew, for the people on the ground, the taxpayer’s aircraft, and the value he placed on his wife and children and the families of his crew. While he was a kind and helpful man of the neighborhood he was also calling his aircrew “pussies”. Quite the contrast.
I am speculating, but given that Holland was 46 and the same rank as his Squadron Commander who was 38, Holland might have believed that he had to take the risks that he did to have any chance of future promotion…or perhaps he knew that he had no promotion path, which fueled his recklessness.
The man was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the day finally came when pushing the airframe beyond it’s aerodynamic limits caused him to kill himself and selfishly, his crew, which he held in contempt. He reminds me of proximity-flying wingsuit fliers, many of whom end up killed or seriously injured. As a previous comment stated, there are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots.
I also put some responsibility for the fatal crash on Squadron Commander McGeehan, who should have gone over Pellerin’s head and been prepared to resign over the systemic rot of decision making that allowed Holland to continue to fly. This “might” have created enough scrutiny to get Holland’s wings clipped and saved the lives of the crew.
Thank you for your article as well as all those who posted comments. It’s great to see all the different perspectives. Without a doubt, Arthur Holland was guilty as charged but there is more to the man than just that. He was obviously good at hiding his tracks as people like that usually are, which is why it’s important that we see all sides to better identify and properly deal with these types before tragedy strikes.
Bud Holland is a huge piece of shit who murdered his whole crew by being a reckless moron. It’s a shame he was never grounded earlier in his career. I feel sorry for the families of those crew members who were on board with that dumbass clown when he crashed.
Erich the only person in Bud Holland’s chain of command that deserved respect was Lt Col McGeehan the squadron commander. He had requested that Holland be grounded and when the Operations Group Commander, the Colonel on board refused the Lt Col McGeehan said that he could only fly with him. No other pilots in the squadron. This accident should have never happened if the Wing’s leadership had responded correctly. I am sure that you may have had a different sense of the man that, off-duty, May have been valid. But, his professional persona was 180 degrees out from that perception.
This monster killed three fellow soldiers due to his recklessness. If there is anything to remember it’s what a complete disgrace and despicable monster Arthur Holland was. May he rot in hell!
Skeptic Yora……..started in B-52’s, flew out of Dieago Gracia during gulf war, four year exchange with Navy then back to AirForce. And by the way, their cameras, low light and infrared, which stowed automatically due to triple a flashes…my more BUFF questions?
Bud Holland is not a hero or pilot by any stretch of the imagination. This moron had total and blatant disregard for the lives of three great men on that flight. Call it what you will but I call it murder by ego. He should have been dishonorably discharged, reduced to rank of private, and sent to Leavenworth for dereliction of duties by an officer. Another thing is that I have read that Bud thought it was cool and neat and funny that he popped rivets and broke wing spars on bombers on different occasions. Think of the lives that he put at risk on those days and on those occasions. Not hardly a hero or good officer in my book. Hopefully the Airforce has learned from this mistake.
I am sure you have seen my responses to your 2014 article on Bud Holland, who while a contemporary of mine was someone I never met. Of, course B52 pilots is one of the largest flying fraternities in the history of flight. I understand the quandary you were faced with – someone you knew versus someone who is a mystery. I also remember when an Air Force magazine showed the actual accident on the front cover. I put that cover in a frame and put it on my wall of my office. It remained there until I left that command in 1999 with comments appended regarding integrity. I flew the B52G until 1978 and then transitioned into support positions retiring in 2008. While I have had my regrettable points in my Air Force career I am intense regarding the integrity of pilots. I remember a flight where I had been given the authority to fly low level for training purposes where before we were required to climb to a safer altitude. My navigator protested in-flight and I immediately deferred to his concerns – not because of my competency but because of his concern. We talked about it later on the ground when everyone was safe. I am passionate about this subject, flying safety, even though today I do not fly anymore. I would ask you to read the entirety of Major Kern’s analysis in his case study that I have referenced in my responses to your article. I also find it interesting that the RAF uses this as a case study for their pilots. Finally, just several years ago there was a foreign film that used a clip of the 1994 crash suggesting it was a fictional 747 crash. The survivors of the other crewmembers protested the clips use and the filmmaker deleted it. A good idea anyways because the fat 747 looks nothing like the slim cigar shape of a B52.
I would also ask that you remember this incident at the 25th anniversary with a consideration of a different perspective.
You write well and your article garnered many comments. If we ignore history we are likely to repeat it and this certainly was a history lesson on flight integrity.
Thank you!
Kenneth P. Johnson, Lt Col, USAF (Retired)
Senior Pilot
(B52 Aircraft Commander)