F-100C, #54-2048

History Of Flight: On 10 August, 1960, 1st. Lt. Thales Derrick (call-sign "Meteor") and a student pilot departed Luke AFB for a local air-to-air tracking mission.  When the flight reached 28,000ft., they started the air combat maneuvering phase and the student was advised to take a left perch position for his high side attack.  The student overshot slightly as he executed a yo-yo while Lt. Derrick was engaged in a left turn.  Lt. Derrick saw the student maintained the advantage and made a descending right turn with the afterburner engaged.  At 22,000ft. and flying 380 knots the afterburner was disengaged and a level right-hand turn was continued.  As the student approached within 1,800ft, Lt. Derrick began a high "G" barrel roll to the left with an airspeed of approximately 350 knots.  The roll was normal for the first 180 degrees, but as airspeed slowed to 250 knots the aircraft's nose yawed violently to the right for one turn, followed by a compressor stall.  The aircraft then righted itself and went into a right-turn spin and didn't respond to the pilot's spin recovery technique, forcing the pilot to bail out at 12,000ft. and land in very rugged, mountainous terrain.