Pilot Error After ‘Sierra Hotel [SH-T HOT]
Break’ Resulted in South China Sea F-35C Crash, Investigation Says 21 Feb 2023
https://news.usni.org/2023/02/21/pil...stigation-says
“...The mishap pilot (MP) attempted an expedited recovery breaking overhead the carrier, an approved and common maneuver, but the MP had never performed this maneuver before, and it reduced the amount of time to configure the aircraft and conduct landing checks,” the report said. “As a result of the compressed timeline and the MP’s lack of familiarity with the maneuver, the MP lost situational awareness and failed to complete his landing checklist. Specifically, the MP remained in manual mode when he should have been (and thought he was) in an automated command mode designed to reduce pilot workload during landings.” The ramp strike followed a routine mission of just under four hours for the junior officer pilot and his wingman....
...JASON 406 entered the “groove,” or the final approach to the carrier, and was moving too slowly. “The [pilot] realized that the jet was extremely underpowered as the jet became slow and continued to descend (settle),” the investigation continued. “At this moment, [the pilot] manually pushed the throttle to military power and then went to maximum afterburner once he realized that the airplane was in a perilous state, failing to climb.”... the LSO told the pilot the speed was too low. A second later the LSO told the pilot to wave off and hit the afterburners.
Data recovered from the F-35C after the crash showed that after the turn the F-135 engine on the aircraft shifted to flight idle – the minimum throttle position for the engine – and remained there until the pilot attempted to accelerate two seconds before hitting the ramp on Vinson....
...Ultimately, investigators determined that “pilot error was the cause of the mishap. However, the error was not conducted in a reckless manner nor with malicious intent,” reads the report. A Navy spokesman told USNI News that, due to the crash, the pilot has been removed from flight status but is still in the service.
Additionally, investigators recommended that aviators stop performing Sierra Hotel Breaks, that policy require F-35C pilots to always use Approach Power Compensation Mode (APC)/Delta Flight Path (DFP) throttle assists and that
heads-up displays include indicator lights showing when flight aids are activated.""
36 page mishap redacted report PDF:
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documen...edacted-v2.pdf (8Mb)