US war plane in NT bombing near miss

[Hempy]

US war plane in NT bombing near miss

The Australian Defence Force says a stray bomb from a US plane has narrowly missed a control building at a weapons range about 150 kilometres south-west of Katherine in the Northern Territory.

The incident happened on Wednesday night at the Delamere bombing range during an annual international exercise.

The bomb was dropped from a US Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet.

No people were injured but the mishap caused some damage to facilities.

All bombing activity at the range has since stopped.

The Royal Australian Air Force's Directorate of Flying Safety is investigating, along with the US Marine Corps.

Exercise Southern Frontier involves about 500 personnel from the US's Japan-based aviation units.

Anyone remember the guy who lived at the wreckers a couple of years ago and had a stray fuel tank land on his car? Are these things common events or rare?

[ZK-NSJ]

at a bombing range in kuwait, a us navy f/a-18 bombed a control hut at a range killing a couple of american soliders and a kiwi sas soldier

[maxgrad]

Landed around 80 metres from a Donga,(accom. hut). Destroyed the hut and various cuts and bruises to onlookers.
Was told the actual distance from the target but night shift has caught up with me.

Give them credit for at least hitting something!

[Obiwan]

Anyone remember the guy who lived at the wreckers a couple of years ago and had a stray fuel tank land on his car? Are these things common events or rare?
I think it was a practise Sidewinder that fell off a Hornet and landed on some bloke's Toyota Landcruiser.

Toyota got a bit of mileage out of it - they ran an ad along the lines of - "So tough, you need to drop a bomb on them to destroy them"

[ZK-NSJ]

anyone seen that episode of topgear where they tryed to kill a hilux?, now thats was some good advertising for toyotas

[Kickatinalong]

The bloody yanks are at it again, won't they ever learn?
It's not that friendly.
Kickatinalong:mad: :mad: :mad:

[Sheep Guts]

I remmember in the mid nineties the US MARINES lost a hornet at Delamere during night practise mission. Which does prove its a dangerous undertaking ( no pun intened), someone has to do it and Im quite thankfull we can help them practise. Aussie pilots make booboos there also.

Delamere is the only and is the largest HE( high explosive) bombing range in the Southern hemisphere. Thats why so many foreign forces practise on it.

Sheep

[Pass-A-Frozo]

The Japan based Marines aren't having a good run in the NT. Last year they lost a hornet, now they are trying to kill the Range Safety Officer!

:ugh:

[Point0Five]

It would seem that timing is everything.

[Capt Claret]

I think they're just trying to add realism to the games, afterall, they're well known for killing allies in various conflicts around the globe with their friendly fire. So why not in a training exercise? :uhoh: :sad: :zzz:

This is at least the second similar occurrence in my 11 years in the Top End. :{

[compressor stall]

I have stood in the control tower at Delamere and watched Lancer 3 accidentally shoot 20mm(?) rounds across the strip not too far fom the front of my 402 parked there.

Was a pretty thorough preflight!!!:cool:

Apparently the crater from that fa18 that went in almost vertical was only a few inches deep due to the bedrock in the plateau.