This page is in Honor and Memory of Lt. Daniel Sherman Sullivan.
Lt. Daniel Sherman Sullivan was stationed with the 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB. On 24 June 1985 he lost his life while flying F-15A, 74-0087. Lt. Sullivan crashed on take off in the Yukon River, Alaska. According to an eyewitness report:
“With the request granted by tower, the pilot of 087 made an uneventful normal takeoff from RW 7. At about a mile from the RW 7 departure end, the pilot made a series of 90 degree turns to reverse course back inbound for the low-pass down RW 25. Completing the course reversal, the pilot descended and crossed the approach end of RW 25 inbound at an estimated 100-200AGL and 550-600 knots in afterburner (AB). Passing down RW 25 and about 1000 feet from the departure end and abeam the USAF alert hangar, the pilot executed an abrupt wings-level pull-up and climb, still in AB. The F-15A instantly and violently broke apart, exploded into flames, and crashed just off the departure end of RW 25 into the Yukon River. There was no ejection and the pilot was fatally injured.”
Obituary
Lt. Sullivan attended Fayetteville-Manlius schools and graduated in 1978 from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. In 1982 he graduated from the Air Force Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was captain of the lacrosse team and recipient of the Superintendent’s Medal for Academic and Military Science Excellence. Lt. Sullivan completed his pilot’s training in 1983 and trained in the F15 until April 1984. Surviving are his mother, Barbara Sherman Sullivan of Akron, Ohio; his father, Dr. Thomas H. Sullivan of Manlius; two sisters, Deborah Minde of Aurora, Colo., and Stephanie M. Sullivan of Syracuse; a stepsister, Megan Sullivan of Jamesville; his maternal grandfather, Calvin B. Sherman of Spring Hill, Fla.; and his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Kenneth D. Sullivan of Potsdam. (source Syracuse Herald Journal July 3, 1985)
