U.S. F18 crash landing at BAH Rwy 12
Glad the zero-zero seat worked as advertised.
From this picture, it looks like the end result was hardly catastrophic - but heading off the hard stuff at 100+ kts, I guess you assume the worst and get out while you can.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/...60&quality=100
From this picture, it looks like the end result was hardly catastrophic - but heading off the hard stuff at 100+ kts, I guess you assume the worst and get out while you can.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/...60&quality=100
Any expert know what he's got there? External fuel tank?
No idea what the thinking is on the F-18 but there was thinking on at least one older type with zero zero seats that going cross country over rough ground could possibly seriously compromise your ability to subsequently eject successfully due to possible damage/deformation to the cockpit seat/ structure. It was therefore pretty much SOP to brief that you would eject if you were heading off the side/end of the runway at speed, regardless of stores being carried.
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Lost a former squadron mate on a F-18 flip over after a landing gear structural failure.
They really do not design military fighters for cross country ground travel. Getting out beforehand is probably recommended in F-18 NATOPS.
They really do not design military fighters for cross country ground travel. Getting out beforehand is probably recommended in F-18 NATOPS.
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Sorry to hear about that 'Machinbird'. With minimal information so far I'll add a quote from USN about the above accident (I understand 'mishap' is the term but....):
Without explaining why and knowing the 'engine malfunction' here is a quote from the FnA18EFNatox:
"...“An F/A-18E of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146 assigned to the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) departed the runway and the pilot ejected during an emergency landing at Bahrain International Airport Aug. 12, 2017.
“During a flight from the Nimitz, an F/A-18E experienced an engine malfunction and attempted to divert to Sheik Isa Air Base, Bahrain. Unable to make it to Isa, the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing at Bahrain International Airport. Due to the malfunction, the aircraft could not be stopped on the runway and the pilot ejected from the aircraft as it departed the runway...." https://news.usni.org/2017/08/12/nim...-safe-ejecting
“During a flight from the Nimitz, an F/A-18E experienced an engine malfunction and attempted to divert to Sheik Isa Air Base, Bahrain. Unable to make it to Isa, the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing at Bahrain International Airport. Due to the malfunction, the aircraft could not be stopped on the runway and the pilot ejected from the aircraft as it departed the runway...." https://news.usni.org/2017/08/12/nim...-safe-ejecting
"...7.8.1 After Landing. Do not taxi with the right engine shut down, as normal brakes and NWS are not available...." https://info.publicintelligence.net/F18-EF-000.pdf (19.5Mb)
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Navy Pilot Dies After Jet Flips at Miramar
December 04, 1985|H.G. REZA | Times Staff Writer
A Navy pilot died Tuesday after his FA-18 fighter skidded for 5,000 feet as it landed on a slick runway at Miramar Naval Air Station. The plane then flipped, trapping the pilot upside-down in his aircraft.
Lt. John Semcken, public affairs spokesman at Miramar, identified the pilot as Capt. Henry M. Kleemann, 42. Kleemann, who was married and had four children, was one of two Navy pilots assigned to the aircraft carrier Nimitz who shot down two Libyan fighters in the Gulf of Sirte on Aug. 19, 1981, after the Libyans fired at the U.S. planes.
Kleemann was stationed at Point Mugu Naval Air Station near Oxnard, Semcken said.
He said the pilot was landing on the 12,000-foot runway at 9:10 a.m., after flying in from Point Mugu, when the accident occurred. After the plane had rolled about 5,000 feet down the runway, it flipped over. A Miramar crash crew worked feverishly for about 30 minutes to free the strapped-in pilot from the cockpit. The crew eventually brought in a crane to lift the front of the jet fighter high enough to pull him out. Despite spilling its fuel, the plane did not burn.
The injured pilot was airlifted by Life Flight helicopter to UC San Diego Medical Center, where he died at 10:25 a.m. Officials would not divulge the cause of death.
Semcken said Kleemann was flying to Miramar on a routine training mission. A Navy spokesman said that the FA-18 squadron at Point Mugu evaluates the weapons systems that are part of the sophisticated fighter's hardware.
The $22-million FA-18 Hornet is built by McDonnell Douglas. Miramar officials said the plane did not deploy a drag chute when it landed, and it appeared that Kleemann was relying solely on the brakes.
Navy officials are also trying to determine why the plane's canopy landed several feet away from the aircraft, and if Kleemann could have been trying to eject before the craft rolled over.
"All of this is just speculation at this point. We have no real clue as to what could have caused the crash. It's under investigation," Semcken said. He said the plane has computerized landing and takeoff systems and a computerized anti-skidding system.
"We're looking at the landing gear and plane's wheels to see what went wrong. The investigators are looking to see if the anti-skidding system failed."
December 04, 1985|H.G. REZA | Times Staff Writer
A Navy pilot died Tuesday after his FA-18 fighter skidded for 5,000 feet as it landed on a slick runway at Miramar Naval Air Station. The plane then flipped, trapping the pilot upside-down in his aircraft.
Lt. John Semcken, public affairs spokesman at Miramar, identified the pilot as Capt. Henry M. Kleemann, 42. Kleemann, who was married and had four children, was one of two Navy pilots assigned to the aircraft carrier Nimitz who shot down two Libyan fighters in the Gulf of Sirte on Aug. 19, 1981, after the Libyans fired at the U.S. planes.
Kleemann was stationed at Point Mugu Naval Air Station near Oxnard, Semcken said.
He said the pilot was landing on the 12,000-foot runway at 9:10 a.m., after flying in from Point Mugu, when the accident occurred. After the plane had rolled about 5,000 feet down the runway, it flipped over. A Miramar crash crew worked feverishly for about 30 minutes to free the strapped-in pilot from the cockpit. The crew eventually brought in a crane to lift the front of the jet fighter high enough to pull him out. Despite spilling its fuel, the plane did not burn.
The injured pilot was airlifted by Life Flight helicopter to UC San Diego Medical Center, where he died at 10:25 a.m. Officials would not divulge the cause of death.
Semcken said Kleemann was flying to Miramar on a routine training mission. A Navy spokesman said that the FA-18 squadron at Point Mugu evaluates the weapons systems that are part of the sophisticated fighter's hardware.
The $22-million FA-18 Hornet is built by McDonnell Douglas. Miramar officials said the plane did not deploy a drag chute when it landed, and it appeared that Kleemann was relying solely on the brakes.
Navy officials are also trying to determine why the plane's canopy landed several feet away from the aircraft, and if Kleemann could have been trying to eject before the craft rolled over.
"All of this is just speculation at this point. We have no real clue as to what could have caused the crash. It's under investigation," Semcken said. He said the plane has computerized landing and takeoff systems and a computerized anti-skidding system.
"We're looking at the landing gear and plane's wheels to see what went wrong. The investigators are looking to see if the anti-skidding system failed."
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A salutory lesson, purely from an erks PoV though.....
Glad he got out in time, if you think you've got to go.... Then go.
Just don't forget to buy lots of beer for the team who serviced your seat/chute and survival equipment
Glad he got out in time, if you think you've got to go.... Then go.
Just don't forget to buy lots of beer for the team who serviced your seat/chute and survival equipment
