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William C. "Bill" Dietz, who led the proposal and flight test effort for the YF-16, died 31 July in Fort Worth, Texas. He was eighty-seven. Dietz was a nationally recognized aeronautical engineer, contributing to the design of military aircraft and missiles over a career that spanned fifty-three years. After graduating from the Aeronautical University of Chicago, Illinois, he joined Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego, California, in 1940. His initial work was on the PBY Catalina seaplane, followed by increasingly responsible roles on the PB2Y, PB4Y, B-24, B-32, B-36, B-58, F-111, F-16, and F-22 programs. In April 1972, he was promoted to vice president of F-16 Engineering, responsible for directing the engineering effort for the full-scale development and production program.
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Neil R. Anderson, long-time F-16 test and demonstration pilot, died 17 September in Fort Worth, Texas. He was seventy-two. Anderson flew more than 250 airplane types in his career and amassed approximately 15,000 hours flight time. He is most remembered for making a belly landing in the YF-16 prototype on 8 May 1975. His engineering and flying career with General Dynamics and later with Lockheed Martin extended from 1967 to 1996. He entered the Marine Corps as a pilot, flying active duty for five years until 1958. He then joined the reserves, eventually retiring in 1974 as a lieutenant colonel. He earned a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1961 from St. Louis University.
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