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Missing Man Formation

Missing Man Formation

A missing man formation consists of four aircraft flying over a ceremony low enough to be clearly seen. The formation shape of a “V,” has the right arm, from the pilots’ perspective, longer than the left. When the “V” passes over the ceremonial site, the aircraft in the “ringfinger” position pulls up and leaves the formation in memory of the fallen pilot. This photo shows the National Guard flyover at the funeral of Pilot Captain, Mr. Tony Barbee in Albemarle, NC. Tony was one of four AirCare crew members killed in a helicopter mission on April 22, 1994. The aircraft crashed near the Bluefield, West Virginia airport. The other three AirCare members who died were Mr. Mike Travison, co-pilot and North Carolina Baptist Hospital Nurses Karen “Lynn” Canada and Donna Eaton.

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Supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.