DefenseNews: Gripen Grounded Pending Crash Investigation
The crash of a JAS Gripen fighter in northern Sweden has resulted in the grounding of C and D versions of the aircraft by the Swedish, Czech and Hungarian air forces pending a full investigation by the Swedish Accident Investigation Board (SAIB).
The fighter, from the Swedish Air Force’s Airwing F21 unit at Lule, was taking part in air exercises when it crashed at the Vidsel airfield after the pilot ejected and landed safely by parachute. However, preliminary findings by SAIB indicate that the pilot did not initiate emergency ejection. SAIB’s initial inquiry will seek to determine if a possible malfunction triggered ejection or if the pilot touched the ejection trigger by mistake.
The Gripen’s crash-proof black-box memory units have been recovered intact. Saab, the fighter’s manufacturer, is cooperating with SAIB in the inquiry.A SAIB spokesman said that the “core reason for the crash” was not immediately clear.
According to SAIB, the Gripen was heading for the Vidsel air base, located west of Lule and inside the Arctic Circle, when it crashed at 3:42 p.m.
The Gripen Type-C is a NATO-compatible version of Gripen with extended armament and electronics capabilities, while the Type-D is a two-seat version of the C variant.
The April 19 incident brings to five the number of Gripens that have crashed since test flights began in the late 1980s, including two crashes prior to delivery to the Swedish Air Force.
• Feb. 2, 1989: The first Gripen prototype crashed on its sixth flight when landing at Linköping air base. A SAIB inquiry found that the cause was pilot-induced oscillation.
• Aug. 8, 1993: A crash on the central Stockholm island of Longholmen also was attributed to pilot-induced oscillation.
• Sept. 20, 1999: A Gripen from Airwing F7, based at Sotenäs, crashed into Lake Vänern during a “dog-fight” exercise. The aircraft abruptly changed course after passing through the wake vortex of the other dog fight plane. The pilot ejected and landed safely by parachute.
• June 1, 2005: A Gripen from Airwing F17, based at Kallinge air base, malfunctioned, forcing the pilot to eject. A SAIBinquiry is still ongoing. The pilot’s report claimed the aircraft’s computer “refused to obey commands.”