56 FW F-16C Crash - Lake Havasu City Airport

[RAFEngO74to09]

Pilot ejected safely after aircraft left the runway whilst attempting an emergency landing at Lake Havasu City Municipal Airport.

Photo in the local newspaper shows the aircraft to be badly damaged.

Fighter jet crashes on Havasu airport runway | Free Access | havasunews.com (http://www.havasunews.com/free_access/fighter-jet-crashes-on-havasu-airport-runway/article_813afe12-47ed-11e8-ae44-4b2b9acd0d97.html)


https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/04/24/f-16-from-luke-air-force-base-crashes/

[Rhino power]

Thread already running...

https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/608148-f-16-crash-luke-afb-arizona-april-24-2018-a.html

-RP

[RAFEngO74to09]

It did some serious bondhu bashing - no wonder the aircraft is in such a state !

See this photo from a different angle https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/988858772922732551

[RAFEngO74to09]

https://theaviationist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/F16_Crash_APR24_20.jpg

[Rhino power]

Yeah, but this one is reporting the correct location.

BGG

So is the original one...

-RP

[RAFEngO74to09]

Lake Havasu City Fire Department comms - great response to a very unusual incident from the first responders.
There are no scheduled airline services into / out of Lake Havasu City Municipal Airport - mainly daily FedEx and general aviation from puddle jumpers to biz jets.
Update: link to audio now working in Post # 10 below.

[RAFEngO74to09]

From the LHC FD audio:
Mishap aircraft had a flame out.
Pilot believed he had a restart and was attempting an emergency landing on Rwy 32 (8,000 ft).
Airport fire could see aircraft was likely to go off the end of the runway.
Pilot ejected and walking around before crash crew arrived.
Aircraft went off the end of the runway, crashed through the perimeter fence, and came to rest in a wash pretty close to the AZ-95 (4-lane 65 mph limit road - only road in / out of LHC).
.

[RAFEngO74to09]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHL9oKbEzjs

[RAFEngO74to09]

The pilot has been released from Havasu Regional Medical Center.

[haltonbrat]

On a very tangentially related point, Lake Havasu city was where London Bridge was erected after being dismantled brick by brick

[Wycombe]

Good news re. the driver. It may be 8000' long, but the runway there is quite narrow IIRC.

An odd, surreal, place Lake Havasu. "London Bridge" was covered in Union Jacks when I was last there.
The story goes that the wealthy businessman who bought it thought he was buying Tower Bridge.

[Geordie_Expat]

The story goes that the wealthy businessman who bought it thought he was buying Tower Bridge.
Urban myth (source:QI)

[RAFEngO74to09]

Continuing the off-topic theme on Lake Havasu City itself (due to it being an attraction worth visiting when on Det at Nellis AFB).

Lake Havasu City founder Robert McCulloch knew exactly which bridge he was buying. The plan was one of his many brilliant ideas which also included buying up land cheaply, flying people in from all over the country free of charge in his own fleet of Lockheed Electras in the 1960s to drum up interest in relocation, using the London Bridge to create "The Island" and the Bridgewater Channel, and the London Bridge itself becoming the second largest tourist attraction in AZ after the Grand Canyon.

Incorporated as a city in 1978, it is now a recreational mecca - particularly for boaters and those that like the outdoors and sun. There is no speed limit on the lake so it is not uncommon to see the equivalent of "UK offshore racing power boats" costing $500K > $1M doing speeds in the 150 mph > 190 mph range. There was a fatal accident just last weekend with one that had been clocked earlier at 158 mph getting airborne 50 ft and crashing back in the lake. Great no-nonsense attitude to policing too - unruly spring breakers find themselves "Arriving on vacation - leaving on probation" plus a hefty fine in the multiple $100s for underage drinking or swearing at hotel employees (stark contrast to several UK bobbies struggling to restrain one drunk in a UK city centre on a weekend).

Las Vegas is the nearest major city - 150 miles - 2.5 hours on great roads. Well worth a visit for those with down time during a RED FLAG at Nellis.
Havasu History ? Havasu Magazine (http://havasumagazine.com/history_of_lake_havasu_city-htm/)

[Airbubba]

Update: link to audio now working in Post # 10 below.

Terrific audio of the first responders, thanks for posting. :ok: However, it seems that the forum update to increase ad revenue has removed the YouTube player on the PC browser version.

[Carbon Bootprint]

Update: link to audio now working in Post # 10 below.Not for me it's not. Post 10 shows up as just a blank white box on my Mac, with equal results for Chrome, FireFox and Safari. I tried to find it on YouTube but to no avail. Oh well, such is "progress."

[RAFEngO74to09]

The new PPRuNe software is pants - pages slow to load, links don't appear on occasion, and multiple attempts needed to post anything.

You can find the incident audio video on You Tube by searching for" "F-16 goes down at Lake Havasu Airport" on "Michael's Flight Sim Channel".

"Engine 6" is based at the Airport.
"Engine 4" is based at Station 4 around 8 miles away.
"Battalion 1" is based at the Main Fire Station 1 around 10 miles away.
"Desert Hills Fire" is based in an unincorporated community about 3 miles away.
"AMR" - American Medical Response operates ambulances - nearest station about 9 miles away.

Airport Ops staff is 2 - Manager + Admin Assistant !

So, again, a reassuring response under the circumstances with almost no notice.

[RAFEngO74to09]

For those that might be interested, here is a GA pilot's POV of a normal landing on Rwy 32 at Lake Havasu City Airport - length 8,0001 ft - width 100 ft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiYIEj2hx5E

[Carbon Bootprint]

Great job, RAFE. I was finally able to locate the audio clip on YT and your helpful explanation of the fire/EMS unit designations added context I wouldn't have had otherwise. Thanks! :ok:

Agreed, a reassuring response.

(For some reason I can see your YT clip in Post 20, but 10 is still a white box...)

[RAFEngO74to09]

Here's a POV approach to Rwy 14 so you can see how rough the over run to Rwy 32 is and how close it is to the Highway AZ-95 (at about 2:44).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nV93r-lEVc