Lincolnshire F15 crash report

[Background Noise]

Brief synopsis here, with links to the report: Air Force releases investigation results on F-15D accident (http://www.lakenheath.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123441640)

Complete in 5 months - are they just quick, or are we very slow at getting these investigations done, or are we more thorough? Admittedly they had all the bits available, and the pilot, and there were no casualties.

[MightyGem]

The pilot from the 48th Fighter Wing's 493rd Fighter Squadron at Lakenheath Air Base ejected safely,
Was there no backseater on board?

[Rhino power]

Was there no backseater on board?

No.

-RP

[andrewn]

Generally the USAF are much less inclined to go (publically) for a straight "pilot error" conclusion, even though in this case it seems fairly straightforward.


As the handling pilot had only ~200hrs on type it seems reasonable to assume he simply overcooked it and that lessons have been learnt. Nuff said.

[Tashengurt]

Seems a shame an F15 can fly with one wing but give it a squiffy nose and it drops out of the sky.

[Pure Pursuit]

He didn't over cook it. The imperfection on the radome post maintanence caused the departure.

He caught his shins on the way out. That's got to smart a bit!!!!

[Just This Once...]

Generally the USAF are much less inclined to go (publically) for a straight "pilot error" conclusion….

I would have said the exact reverse of the USAF system.

[Alber Ratman]

Val Kilmer is coughing very loudly... :)

[KenV]

Seems a shame an F15 can fly with one wing but give it a squiffy nose and it drops out of the sky.

The funny thing about the F-15 is that when the pilot ejects, it seldom returns to base and lands on its own.

In the case of the F-15 that lost a wing, the pilot elected to stay aboard and nurse the plane back.

[Basil]

$45M will take a while to pay back on a pilot's salary :E

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

You can just picture him opening his Mess Bill and thinking
"Whoa, I don't remember drinking that much...there again, I don't remember anything from last Friday...Ho,hum. Another 'Hats On' I fear."

[Gemini Twin]

sprintman That was for the other crew they took for the mishap pilot it was OK and a non factor.

[Tashengurt]

The funny thing about the F-15 is that when the pilot ejects, it seldom returns to base and lands on its own.

I understand that but assuming he didn't step out for cosmetic reasons I feel my statement, whilst banal, stands. :ok:

[Courtney Mil]

Takes a while to read through it, but it's thorough report.

In case some of you could be arsed to go through all the links: http://www.usafe.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-150312-012.pdf

But some very interesting points here. Not least the effect of a small amount of sealant vs the massive effect of two very big tail fins and the tail planes and the natural stability of the F-15. Now, I have departed the Eagle, but I had to try very hard and I couldn't swear to the purity of of any part of what was then an old A-Model airframe.

All that said, there remain some unusual corners of the flight envelope that MacAir were happy to talk about (some time ago), but we're unlikely to be fixed - like the big weight on top of one of the fins.

Anyway, all said, it's a sound final report. People survived. Job done. Good.

P.S. Tash, yes. Your statement should stand.

[dat581]

I don't know about returning to base but an F-106A has landed on it's own after the pilot stepped out. The Cornfield Bomber.

[Kitbag]

The Cornfield BomberFascinating story; I especially liked this bit reported by Wiki:

Foust watched incredulously as the now-pilotless aircraft descended and skidded to a halt in a farmer's field...Shortly thereafter, the local sheriff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriff) arrived at the scene of the crash, and was surprised when he observed the aircraft – the heat of the crash landing, combined with the exhaust from the still-idling jet engine, melted the snow which allowed the aircraft to start to move. Having contacted the air base, he was informed that he should simply allow the jet to run out of fuel, which occurred an hour and forty-five minutes later without further incident

The ac was recovered, repaired and returned to service, ending its days in the USAF Museum

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

19-Jan - 1960 Danish Hawker Hunter

Engine failure during approach to Skrydstrup, Denmark. Pilot - 1st Lt. K. Rasmussen - ejected safely, three miles from Skrydstrup airfield. The now pilot-less Hunter flew on and made an almost perfect belly landing onto the runway at Skrydstrup, slewing off to the right on touchdown.

There was so little damage to E-415, apart from the nose cone (which was lost) that the Hunter was back in operational service within one month

ASN Aircraft incident 19-JAN-1960 Hawker Hunter F Mk 51 E-415 (http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=170881)

[KenV]

I understand that but assuming he didn't step out for cosmetic reasons I feel my statement, whilst banal, stands.


You are welcome to feel so. However, there was zero evidence indicating that the subject F-15 "fell out of the sky" when it got a "squiffy nose." It seems more likely it got a "squiffy nose", the pilot put the aircraft in a corner of the flight envelope where it was already naturally unstable in yaw and nose squishiness exacerbated that instability resulting in a spin, the pilot ran out of altitude before regaining control, and got out (in my opinion, a very good decision.)

Aircraft making a gentle touchdown on their own after the pilot leaves are exceedingly rare. And tying this back to the F-15 with the missing wing, had that pilot decided to "step out", the chances of it making a gentle touchdown were nil.

[AtomKraft]

The best 'landed by itself' story I've read concerned, of all things, a U-2.

The pilot had an embolism, and conked out.

The a/c set off earthward and despite the best efforts of other plots sent up to help, the pilot remained on board, but unresponsive.

The a/c had a wing low and looked set to cartwheel on impact, but at the last moment flew through some HT wires which hooked a wing and set the U-2 nicely wings level.

It then landed itself gently, but split a fuel tank, the contents of which ran neatly away down a hill without going on fire.
The a/c sat there for a while, with the engine running. The pilot woke up and decided to disembark, but in doing so he fired his ejection seat.
The seat made him do a somersault, chipping one of his teeth, before thudding back into the ground beside him.
The Dragon Lady was returned to service, and I think, has survived.

[ORAC]

The Dragon Lady was returned to service, and I think, has survived

1980 - 31 January (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_ (1980%E2%80%9389))

Lockheed U-2C, 56-6714, Article 381, 21st airframe of first USAF order, delivered August 1957, to 4080th SRW, Laughlin AFB, Texas, as a 'hard nose' sampling aircraft; transferred to the Central Intelligence Agency and converted to U-2G in mid-1965; transferred to Strategic Air Command; flyable storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 1969. Returned to U-2C configuration for Advanced Location and Strike System (ALSS) project, 1972; damaged 2 May 1974 on landing at Davis-Monthan AFB, repaired. Written off after crash on 31 January 1980, Capt. Edward Beaumont surviving......

Airframe repaired for display at 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing headquarters, Beale AFB, California. Pilot removed from U-2 program on medical grounds.[1]

http://www.blackbirds.net/u2/u2_photo_gallery/u2_pics/56-6714.jpg

Here is an excerpt out of Chris Pocock's book "Dragon Lady", page 151: (http://osuny.co.uk/txt/skunk-works/v05-n074.txt)