First Female USAF F-16 Demo Team Commander Fired After Two Weeks

[Hektor057]

1. Three years later, the revealed reasons for Capt Zoe Kotnik's removal showed that she suffered for committing exactly the kind of overconfidence in her own leadership that senior commanders admire in their fighter pilots, while firmly counsel-correcting them for minor mistakes. But the Thunderbirds' zero tolerance for any variations in displays other than the briefed manoeuvres, unfortunately (wrongly, in my opinion) doomed a history-making young lady's career. Just reading the USAF's justification broke my heart and made me convinced again that the Z -T is a bad rule if not modified with good judgement. She was sorry for her mistakes (neither of them dangerous) but was not forgiven.
   
2. But what did she do, just two weeks into her job (with a stellar record as a team member and a reputed solo F-16 pilot in the same team) that carried such a harsh punishment?
   
3. She once flew her team safely below the briefed height in a flypast, not an aerobatic manoeuvre. And she once took her formation to supersonic speed, again not a dangerous condition.
4. The writer has flown the F-16, flown formation aeros for seven years, trained many pilots on jet fighters, and flown with many USAF pilots for many happy years. Belongs to a different but well-regarded air force.