• Craig David Button (Nov. 24, 1964-April 2, 1997) was a U.S. Air Force pilot who died when he crashed an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft under mysterious circumstances.
• Button was on a training mission with two other A-10s from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
• Button flew hundreds of miles off course without radio contact. Near Gila Bend, Arizona, after being refueled in-flight, Button unexpectedly broke formation. He flew in a northeasterly direction toward Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah come together. His jet was spotted numerous times by observers on the ground. The Air Force determined that Button was flying his aircraft manually and purposefully.
• He crashed into Gold Dust Peak in the Holy Cross Wilderness.
• He did not attempt to eject before the crash.
• It took three weeks to find the crash site, and all summer to clean it up. For years, a sign at the Gold Dust Peak trailhead warned that hikers might encounter 30 mm ammunition.
• Button’s $9 million single-seat A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft was armed with four Mk-82 bombs, each weighing 500 pounds, 60 magnesium flares, 120 metal chaff canisters and 575 rounds of 30-millimeter ammunition. This training mission would have been the first time Button dropped live ordnance.
• The Air Force concluded the jet probably had two to five minutes of fuel remaining when it crashed. Debris scattered over a quarter-mile-square area.
Sources: U.S. Air Force and media reports
It took two-and-a-half months to clean up the mess.Sources: U.S. Air Force and media reports
For the heroic details, see https://www.vaildaily.com/news/colorado/the-curious-case-of-capt-craig-button-part-ii-cleaning-up-plane-crash-took-entire-summer-of-1997s∑/.
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