Final report
CF188738 Hornet... | Fighters | Reports - Investigation | DFS | RCAF | DND/CF
Epilogue:
During an air show practice at Lethbridge County Airport, CF188738 experienced a loss of thrust from its right engine while conducting a high angle of attack (AOA) pass at 300 feet (ft) above ground level (AGL). Unaware of the problem but feeling the aircraft sink slightly, the pilot selected maximum afterburner on both throttles in order to overshoot from the manoeuvre. The aircraft immediately started to yaw right and continued to rapidly yaw/roll right despite compensating control column and rudder pedal inputs.
With the aircraft at approximately 150 ft AGL and about 90 degrees of right bank, the pilot ejected from the aircraft. The aircraft continued in a tight descending corkscrew to the right prior to hitting the ground nose first.
The ejection system worked flawlessly, but the pilot was injured when he landed firmly under a fully inflated parachute.
The investigation revealed a number of factors that contributed to this occurrence. The engine malfunction was likely the result of a stuck ratio boost piston in the right engine main fuel control (MFC) that prevented the engine from advancing above flight idle when maximum afterburner was selected. The large thrust imbalance between the left and the right engines caused the aircraft to depart controlled flight and the aircraft was unrecoverable within the altitude available. The subtle nature of the engine malfunction that was not detected by the pilot when the overshoot was attempted.
In response to this occurrence, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) expedited the implementation of a program to upgrade all CF188 MFCs. Additionally, the RCAF made changes to the conduct of the CF188 air show routine by increasing the high AOA pass altitude from 300 feet AGL to 500 feet AGL, improving the air show training program and ensuring that both engines of the CF188 air show aircraft have upgraded MFCs.