Green Ramp disaster
Wreckage of the parked Lockheed C-141 Starlifter destroyed by the accident; its punctured fuel tanks contributed to the fireball. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 23, 1994 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision caused by ATC and pilot error |
| Site | Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, U.S. 35°10′05″N 79°01′30″W / 35.168°N 79.025°W |
| Total fatalities | 24 (on ground) |
| Total injuries | 100+ |
| First aircraft | |
| A US Air Force F-16, similar to the one involved | |
| Type | General Dynamics F-16D Fighting Falcon |
| Operator | United States Air Force |
| Call sign | WEEBAD 03 |
| Registration | 88-0171 |
| Flight origin | Pope Field, North Carolina, United States |
| Destination | Pope Field, North Carolina, United States |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 2 |
| Second aircraft | |
| A US Air Force C-130, similar to the one involved | |
| Type | Lockheed C-130E Hercules |
| Operator | United States Air Force |
| Call sign | HITMAN 31 |
| Registration | 68-10942 |
| Occupants | 5 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 5 |
| Third aircraft | |
| A US Air Force C-141, similar to the one involved | |
| Type | Lockheed C-141B Starlifter |
| Operator | United States Air Force |
| Registration | 66-0173 |
| Occupants | 0 |
Location in the United States
Location in North Carolina
The Green Ramp disaster was a 1994 mid-air collision and subsequent ground collision at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. It killed twenty-four members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division preparing for an airborne training operation.
As of 2025, this incident has the largest number of ground fatalities for an accidental crash of an aircraft on U.S. soil. It was also the worst peacetime loss of life suffered by the division since the end of World War II.