GC10PHZ Flugtag '88 Memorial (Multi-cache) in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany created by Team golfpro & Combatnurse2003

This cache has been archived.

golfpro: Time for another geocacher to place a cache here....thank you all who have visited...safe caching...

GC10PHZ ▼

A cache by Team golfpro & Combatnurse2003 Message this owner

Hidden : 2/1/2007

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

This cache takes about 30 minutes. Please log with initials only to save room for more logs. [;)]
Please practice Cache In Trash Out (CITO) [:D]

Go to the coordinates listed and look for the memorial stone. On this stone you will find the names of the victims of the Flugtag 88 Air Show Disaster.

Find the year of the birth of the youngest and oldest listed on this memorial stone. (Youngest 19AA) (Oldest 19XX). Only use dates listed on the memorial stone.

A little math is in order (AA-51=BB) (XX+64=YY), go to the following coordinates and . N 49° 25.9BB E 007° 34.0YY. The security and police may approach you if you look suspicious. They are Muggles too, so have identification with you in case they ask for it. Have a fun and safe search

PB1302 Research on the memorial (visit link)
(visit link)

The Ramstein airshow disaster is one of the world's worst airshow disasters. It occurred in front of an audience of 300,000 people on August 28, 1988 at the US Ramstein Air Base airshow Flugtag '88 (Ramstein, county of Kaiserslautern, Germany). Three of the ten Aermacchi MB-339PAN jets from the Italian Air Force display team, Frecce Tricolori, collided in mid-air in front of the audience while performing their 'pierced heart' (a.k.a. cardoid) formation. One aircraft crashed directly into the crowd [1]. Sixty-seven spectators as well as all three pilots were killed and 346 were seriously injured in the resulting explosion and fire.

On that day, the Frecce Tricolori, an Italian Air Force jet demonstration team attempted a maneuver called " the piercing heart". In the 'pierced heart' formation two groups of aircraft create a heartshape in front of the audience. The stunt called for the planes to all rocket toward each other at 350 MPH. The heart is then pierced in the direction towards the audience by a lone aircraft. The accident was caused by pilot error as the piercing aircraft came in too fast, too soon and too low, resulting in it hitting two planes just completing the heart formation at an altitude of less than 40 meters. It is suspected that the pilot of the piercing aircraft attempted to correct his position by extracting the landing gear. The excessively low altitude of the piercing aircraft meant that it could have collided with the control tower, had it not collided with the other aircraft. Unfortunately, the piercing aircraft crashed into an ice cream truck placed in the crowd, where a lot of people were lining up on the hot summer day. The tumbling aircraft spread aviation fuel and the resulting fire in the crowd was intense. At the same time, one of the damaged aircraft from the heart-forming group carried on for some distance along the runway and crashed into the emergency medical evacuation Black Hawk helicopter, injuring an American military helicopter pilot who died weeks later from burns he suffered in the accident. This medical asset had been placed on what was thought to be a safe distance from the runway to be available in case of an accident. The pilot of this aircraft was the only one who had time to eject, but he was killed as he hit the runway without his parachute opening. After the crash the remaining group had to circle the airbase until they were told to land at Sembach Air Base. There were many children among the victims with 16 of the fatalities occurring in the days and weeks after the disaster due to severe burns. In total about 1,000 people had to seek hospital treatment following the event.

Learn more about Flugtag 88 (visit link)

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Nyy "Fvtaf" cbvag gb gur pnpur