From: Dutch Rauch To: Subject: RE: Former Navy pilot crashes Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 2:45 PM > Subject: Former Navy pilot crashes > > Thu August 26, 1999 08:14 EDT <> > > Pilot of missing MIG from New Hampshire > > VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) _ A New Hampshire man who was an expert > pilot of Russian jet fighters crashed a MIG-21 into the Pacific Ocean and > is presumed dead. > > The privately owned jet vanished off the west coast of Vancouver Island on > Tuesday and searchers later found a debris field and fuel slick on the > water. > > Doug Schultz, 53, of Francestown, N.H., was flying the plane in radar > tracking drills for the HMCS Algonquin, a Canadian Navy ship, at the time > of the crash. > > The MIG-21 belonged to Air USA, a Quincy, Ill., based contractor that buys > and refurbishes airplanes for resale. > > Schultz logged more hours flying Russian-built MIGs than anyone else > outside the former Soviet Union, said Don Kirlin, Air USA president. > > The search for Schultz, hampered by low clouds, continued until darkness > Tuesday night. > > The Rescue Co-ordination Center in Victoria said the Algonquin, two > Canadian Coast Guard vessels, a Sea King helicopter, an Aurora fixed-wing > aircraft and a Labrador helicopter from the Canadian Forces base at Comox > assisted in the search. > > Canadian Air Force Capt. Dennis Johnston said the Navy warship last > plotted the MIG at 12,000 feet. The plane crashed about a mile from the > last known position. > > ``The evidence indicates he impacted at a very high speed,'' Johnston > said. A parachute and some of Schultz' personal items, but no body, were > found. > > A California native, Schultz flew numerous combat missions in Vietnam. He > attended the Navy's Fighter Weapon's School, made famous by the movie > ``Top Gun.'' > > He also organized the Navy's first fleet adversary squadron, where he flew > Russian aircraft in dogfight training with American military pilots. > > More recently, Schultz split his time between piloting Boeing 767s for > Delta Airlines and flying MIGs at exhibitions > >