News stories tagged with "air-force"

(01/18/12) Fifty years ago, in the early morning darkness of Jan. 16, 1962, an Air Force jet bomber slammed into the top of Wright Peak, in the Adirondack backcountry near Lake Placid. The four crewmen on board all died when the B-47 went down. Wreckage scattered across the mountain's summit. Twisted remains still mark the site.

Chris Knight talked recently to some of the victims' family members and people who were involved in the search for the plane. more

(11/04/11) A Potsdam woman was one of the founding members of the Women's Air Force Band back in the early 1950's. Beverly Washburn was also the first female tuba player in an Air Force band and the ensemble's assistant conductor.

The WAF Band was organized in 1951 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Washburn was one of the first eighteen women musicians in the ensemble. In its ten-year lifespan, the group toured the country and marched in three presidential inaugurations.

As she prepared for the 60th reunion of the musicians in Arizona next week, Washburn spoke with Todd Moe about her tuba-toting military career.

(05/19/04) A Syracuse-based company hopes to build a major aviation maintenance hub at the old Plattsburgh Air Force Base. On Friday, Precision Jet signed a memorandum of understanding with officials in Clinton County that brings the project one step closer to reality. But some critics say the company's reputation -- and their demands for tax relief --- raise serious questions about the deal. Brian Mann spoke with Joe LoTemplio, a reporter with the Plattsburgh Press Republican who has been following the story.

(06/10/03) The Air Force says a preliminary inspection of the old Plattsburgh Air Force base turned up no radioactive material. A more detailed search is now being planned, at a site now occupied by a civilian biotech company.
As Brian Mann reports, business leaders, who are working to convert the base into a development park, say publicity from the investigation has been damaging.

(11/01/01) A major development project in Plattsburgh has lost more than two-million dollars in annual state funding. Lawmakers say redeveloping the Plattsburgh Air Force Base lost the money because of the September 11 attacks. Brian Mann reports.