USAF miss range in Japan by 5km

[ORAC]

U.S. F-16 drops 230-kg mock bomb on Aomori farmland?The Asahi Shimbun (http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201911080032.html)

U.S. F-16 drops 230-kg mock bomb on Aomori farmland

A U.S. F-16 fighter jet accidentally dropped a 230-kilogram mock bomb during training over private land near the Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture at around 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, the Defense Ministry said. The fake bomb landed 5 kilometers from the training site at the base. It did not contain explosives, and no damage was reported.

“Such an incident is a huge concern for surrounding residents and should never happen,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a Nov. 7 news conference. “We urge the U.S. military to provide more information and effective measures to prevent a recurrence.”

According to the ministry, the U.S. military around 8:50 a.m. on Nov. 7 informed Japan’s Tohoku Defense Bureau that the F-16 dropped a mock bomb on a range near the base, which straddles the city of Misawa and the village of Rokkasho in the prefecture. The U.S military later found the mock bomb buried in grass on a private farm about 5 kilometers west of the range. U.S. forces also told the ministry that they will refrain from mock-bomb drop training for the time being.

https://youtu.be/edQ4e6CUxRE

[typerated]

That's harsh - got to be a switch F*** up rather than a bad eyechometer.

That said I have some some monumental misses almost exclusively from the USAF!
And a few target identification issues too.

[jolihokistix]

Not going to go into any detail, but that is not the half of the potential story here.

[Background Noise]

Only 5Km? - Don't think the USAF have the monopoly on range misdemeanours - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bomb-error-1143918.html

[jolihokistix]

https://japantoday.com/category/national/u.s.-f-16-drops-dummy-bomb-off-firing-range-in-northeastern-japan#comments

For those interested in what else is in the vicinity, apart from the innocuous 'private farm', read some of the comments here.

[Fonsini]

So they have a bombing range that is only 6,000ish meters from the Rokkasho plutonium reprocessing and storage facility ?!? And they just missed the target...by 5,000 meters ?

Seems like the press has missed the bigger story here.

[ORAC]

Not sure what the actual danger would have been if it the practice bomb (I presume inert and the range does not allow live munitions) had hit the plant - or even if the F16 or any aircraft hit it..

Doing some research the plant is built to exceed nuclear reactor containment levels. The building walls are all 1.5 to 2m thick and the waste cells are additionally buried under up to 9m of earth and aggregate. That thickness of wall is designed to absorb the impact of a crashing jet, it should somfortably handle such an impact.

https://youtu.be/X697yZBCN8w

Doubtless some elements of the press will pick up the story and make a near disaster out of it, and the safety design will be ignored.

[jolihokistix]

Orac, thanks for the reassurance. :)

And strangely no, it seems that few have shown any interest in this.

[PapaDolmio]

ISTR a Jaguar doing something similar at Garvie many years ago?

[Tankertrashnav]

5 kms? Pah!. On the NBS course in 1970 I missed a dam in North Yorkshire and "hit" another 9 miles (15 km) away. Still, it clinched my posting to a very happy 6 years on Victor tankers,instead of Vulcan bombers :ok:

ORAC That reminds me of when they set up this 100 mph train smash to prove the integrity of nuclear fuel flasks in the event of a derailment. As I recall the anti-nuclear brigade who were protesting about the movement of this material still weren't satisfied and said that because the flask was angled across the track it somehow invalidated the experiment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY446h4pZdc

[ORAC]

Accident report published.....

https://www.pacaf.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2146786/air-force-releases-findings-on-2019-misawa-f-16cm-mishap/

https://www.pacaf.af.mil/Portals/6/191106-PACAF-MisawaAB-Japan-F-16%20AIB-NARRATIVE%20REPORT.pdf

[GeeRam]

Doing some research the plant is built to exceed nuclear reactor containment levels. The building walls are all 1.5 to 2m thick and the waste cells are additionally buried under up to 9m of earth and aggregate. That thickness of wall is designed to absorb the impact of a crashing jet, it should somfortably handle such an impact.


As were all our Magnox and AGR Nuc Power stations built in the UK in the 60's to 80's.

[phil9560]

They might be missing that range by about 3000 KM if the Chinese carry with their shenanigans 🙄

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8215511/China-takes-advantage-USS-Roosevelt-crippled-coronavirus-send-jets-close-Taiwan.html

[Big Pistons Forever]

I wonder if they have convened a naming board for the hapless pilot

My suggestions

-Bullseye
-Nowhere
-Pickle
-Farmbuster
-Right on
-Press to Test

[Airbubba]

None of the over 50 Japanese nuke plants has a cooling tower. They are all built on the coast in an earthquake zone. What can go wrong?

[gums]

Salute!
A few points, then back to my corona cave.
- One of the most poorly written and explained incident/accident/mishap reports I have ever seen. Lookin' at my vita, you can imagine how many boards I have been involved with in various capacities.
- If the pilot was originally gonna drop a LGB by himself ( twice), then the plane must have had some kinda pod for self-designation, huh? So why need a buddy to designate the tgt for the final attempt? I did not find a loadout for the plane, did you?
- I want to know if the point of impact was a "destination" or "waypoint" the pilot had loaded in his nav system. It could have been his IP for a planned release at the range or a RDVZ point. OTOH, if the "point of interest", aka target, intended to be a quick reaction/CAS tgt versus a pre-planned one, I can unnerstan the requirements for assuring the symbology in the HUD or on the REO /MFD reflects the intended tgt and that the range was not selected as a destination/waypoint/etc.
- The report did not describe the confirmation procedure used to ensure the POI was the intended tgt transmitted by the supporting player.
- Hard for me to fathom that the bomb range or another point was not displayed in addition to the tgt. Our dinosaur era Vipers displayed the selected nav destination and a tgt or IP symbol.

I agree with the Board that the mishap was human error, I just think there could have been a more clear sequence of events and better explanation of the tgt ID and coordinate transfer procedure, and equipment/systems used.

Gums sends...

[Easy Street]

If the pilot was originally gonna drop a LGB by himself ( twice), then the plane must have had some kinda pod for self-designation, huh? So why need a buddy to designate the tgt for the final attempt?

I’ve no idea of the specifics of this occurrence but in general terms it might go something like this. The range orders probably impose constraints on attack direction, altitude and release distance. When the pilot returned to the range, maybe the target was obscured by cloud from the permitted attack directions but remained visible from elsewhere. Or maybe a cloud layer had formed below the minimum permitted release altitude but had a base high enough for a buddy to operate below it. (Damn those coastal ranges!) Either of those situations could have been addressed with an ad-hoc buddy lase provided the bomb gets enough time in clear sight of the target to receive laser returns and guide properly. Dropping LGBs through weather is good sport and good training too; such situations are not unheard of on ops with all GPS weapons expended and restrictions on attack directions for protection of friendlies. The thicker the cloud, the better the initial ballistic aim needs to be due to the limited field of view of the seeker. 5km error is going to challenge the seeker in any weather! This is all speculation on my part but plausible enough; would have been good to have the detail in the report, as you say.

[Pontius Navigator]

ISTR a Jaguar doing something similar at Garvie many years ago?
Nah, this was only 500lb, THAT was 1,000lb and it wasn't a mock bomb.

He hit what he aimed at too.

Mind you we had an F15 hit what he aimed at. The Tornado missed by 200 yards. Sane target, it just wasn't in the danger area.

[typerated]

Nah, this was only 500lb, THAT was 1,000lb and it wasn't a mock bomb.

He hit what he aimed at too.

Mind you we had an F15 hit what he aimed at. The Tornado missed by 200 yards. Sane target, it just wasn't in the danger area.

And the target was?

a fishing boat out in the wash? Fossdyke Bridge? Boston Stump? Skegness?

[Green Flash]

I believe a Hunter hit what he aimed at too. Cowden Range but drop tanks instead of a practise bomb. 100 yards of the East Riding moved perceptibly closer to Holland, apparently.

[Pontius Navigator]

And the target was?

a fishing boat out in the wash? Fossdyke Bridge? Boston Stump? Skegness?
The scoring quadrant and the operator had to go home to change his pants.

If the release had been a tiny fraction of a second later the bomb would have been just 8 feet higher.

[Pontius Navigator]

A few years ago we visited a French radar station on the south coast. The mess wall was covered by a tarp. A drop tank had been dropped through it.

[Pontius Navigator]

We also had a Jaguar that dropped a few practice bombs too. Only problem we it was still on the CBLS. His 'mates' were along next day for the trophy.

[BEagle]

When I did a couple of days as RSO at RAF Pembrey Sands in 1976, I asked why there was a large dent in the clock in the RSO's tower. I was told that it was courtesy of a Harrier flying an FRA rather off the correct attack track and a 30mm case had scored a DH on the RSO's tower...

One day a couple of QFIs in a JP flew through the range - between the Hunter flying a 10deg strafe dive and the target - fortunately dry.

Not long before I did my stint, some aged Wg Cdr aviator on a 79 Sqn refresher course had managed to select both inboard pylons live (despite the 'lift the flap' and red bands around the switches) - and instead of a little 25lb practice bomb, off duly came 2 x 230 gall drop tanks containing rather a lot of Avtur, unplottable at 6. When he asked to continue, he was politely to bugger off...Sir!

I only did a couple of days filling in for the RSO, but it was quite an education!

The most impressive long bomb event I heard of was from a USAF exchange officer at Scampton. On one B-52D mission from Guam, they'd dropped a Buff load of bombs 15 minutes short of the target over some part of SE Asia due to a formation call-sign cock-up. But no-one ever complained.... Hardly surprising really, I guess.

[ORAC]

There was the RAF SHar pilot who bombed his own carrier rather than the towed target. Thankfully only a 28lb practice bomb, though I understood it did go through 2 decks and ended up in a PO mess.

[Bull at a Gate]

I have a question about the original incident which I hope someone can answer. The mishap pilot selected what was said to be a spuriously generated SPI. What could have caused it to be spuriously generated?

[F-16GUY]

Agree with Gums. Pure written report that does not explain the procedures and terms at all.

With the introduction of Link-16 and a certain OFP upgrade, the F-16 got the capability to share Sensor Point of Interest (SPI) between formation members. This means that one can see ones elements mate SPI on ones Horizontal Situation Display (HSD) and also on the TGP if it is zoomed out far enough. The transmitted SPI itself is not exactly precise, but will show a symbol with the generating formation member’s number on top. As it is transmitted through the Link, it is not weapons quality grid and there is a delay in SPI position update due to the way the system works (in a case where the target is not stationary). The SPI position however, is close enough to get a laser seeker within acquisition range during the later portion of the bombs flight/fall.

I have never seen the SPI used for buddy lasing ops against a stationary target, but then again, we do not use same procedures as the USAF. The way we use the SPI, is for the formations members to gain SA on the other formations member’s sensor position. For attack usage we use it for mover attacks, where we employ laser or dual mode weapons. The clever part about the SPI during a buddy lased mover attack, is that the SPI information from the designator aircraft, also contains the vector of the target. This way, the shooter aircraft will calculate a lead computed impact point that will ensure the weapon is in the right point in space when the seeker is within acquisition range. Seen it used in combat against very fast movers, and it worked like a charm.

The problem with the SPI on the other hand, is that every time the aircraft that is generating the SPI looses TGP track, the SPI will still be visible in the element mates cockpit for a certain amount of time. And sometime there can even be multiple stale SPI’s displayed. For this reason, there is a procedure in place to ensure that the receiver aircraft is looking on the proper SPI. Each transmitted SPI has an index number attached. This number has to be verified in both cockpits to avoid embarrassment. And this brings me to this incident, where I get the feeling that this was not done, and that the MP dropped his weapon on a stale SPI.

Furthermore, I don’t know how procedures are at the range used in this incident, but we have very strict procedures that we have to follow during attacks where the target is obscured by clouds. One of the most restrictive rules is that the shooter has to get below the weather and visually verify that the SPI is on/in vicinity of the intended target, and from this time on the weapon has to be delivered within a very short amount of time…

[Dan Gerous]

Sometimes they get it right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP7tDJNbefE

[weemonkey]

"Each transmitted SPI has an index number attached. This number has to be verified in both cockpits to avoid embarrassment. And this brings me to this incident, where I get the feeling that this was not done, and that the MP dropped his weapon on a stale SPI."

Yep, from reading the report and some replies on here that is the missing link.

However the deployment of the GBU-12 was instigated at the "MASS" brief.

Were there no balances and checks applied at this point, nothing that I read in the report gives any indication as to the priority given to releasing that weapon [or not] pertaining to mission success.

?

[gums]

Salute!

TNX, F16Guy. And Weemonkey has another great point.

First to wee, I fail to see the over riding requirement to drop an inert bomb with a multi-thousand dollar seeker system. This was not a special mission for the development and testing of some new system. Your view agrees with mine.

@ F16Guy...... The explanation of the handoff of the tgt/POI was illuminating to this old fart, and I feel your procedure is super. We have come a long way from when the FAC asked "What color is the smoke?"

For many here to know, most from the Motherland, the Colonists have had many off-range releases in peacetime, and more than one "off-target" incidents in combat situations besides the Buff incident referenced. A famous one was when a Double Ugly bombed the TACAN at DaNang, maybe in 1972 when we started using LORAN versus the old "Skyspot" system that used SAC radar scoring gear in reverse. The crew failed to note that the offset from the nav station was zero! So one calm night a ripple of MK-82's went across the TACAN! Gotta love it.

The most famous USAF incident documentation has escaped my search, but apparently was in late 70's and at Nellis. Someone here who is older than 60 might recall. It was called the "Corn Creek Massacre". Although the name could be slightly off. A flight to the range did not have their act together, and the range officer was complicent, equally guilty. NIGHT MISSION. They had live MK-82's. The RO cleared them to drop without a positive ID. A nearby Forest Ranger abode had outdoor lights that resembled those at the tgt. Booomb! After action report has good comments from the forest ranger. And then, to make it worse, the RO said he didn't see impacts and cleared the flight for a second pass. The ranger described the hits and thanked God when the guilty parties went home.

Gums sends....

[WB627]

And the target was?

a fishing boat out in the wash? Fossdyke Bridge? Boston Stump? Skegness?

Since you mentioned the Boston Stump, my dad claimed a direct hit with a practice bomb whilst doing his advanced fling training at Cranwell on Miles Master II's.

He and his instructor were engaged on a bombing exercise on one of the ranges on the Wash, procedure was to drop the bombs and count the splashes to make sure they tallied. On this occasion they dropped one more bomb than they got splashes, so did the hung up bomb procedure, waggle wings, pull ups etc checking for the missing splash. Having failed to get the missing splash, the instructor made the assumption that the bomb was a dud and had in fact left the rack.

So they then did their usual low level, wave top height dash across the Wash with the Boston Stump the aiming point, it was apparently in a direct line between the range and Cranwell. When they arrived at the Stump an entusiastic pull up over the tower was performed, with unbeknownst to them at the time, the inevitable release of the bomb through a window and into the pews, which were fortunately empty at the time.

On arrival back at Cranwell, they were surprised to find the Station Commander waiting to greet them. He and the instructor were separated and my dad never saw him again.

Despite this, he completed the course and was awarded the Sword of Honor. Recommended for Mosquitos, he was posted to a transport conversion unit flying Wellingtons, before a posting to the Middle East on Dakotas with 78 Squadron.

[Mogwi]

There was the RAF SHar pilot who bombed his own carrier rather than the towed target. Thankfully only a 28lb practice bomb, though I understood it did go through 2 decks and ended up in a PO mess.

Yup, I was on the board for that one. Missed the LOX plant with (as I recall) c 2000 L of LOX in it by 20'. Now that would have been a bang!

The pilot thought that he had made a switch pigs but we managed to prove (much to their Lordships' displeasure) that it was a software glitch and the pilot was completely blameless. 'T would have been a different outcome if it had been an inert 1000lb instead of a smoke/flash 28lb.

Showed how accurate the SHAR LOFT attack could be though, as it was dead centre of the ship and entered the deck between the tramlines!

Mog

[BEagle]

When our Nav Plotter went off to do the anti-honking course, an ancient old chap joined the crew. He'd been on RAF Lincolns and told us the story of how they'd once seriously mis-ID'd the target - instead of bombing the range they'd dropped several thousand pounders on a German (or Dutch?) wildlife sanctuary...

[SnowFella]

Looks like it doesn't even have to be in the air for a "woopsie" to take place, sadly this one had fatal results.
https://theaviationist.com/2020/04/18/watch-rocket-accidentally-fired-by-chadian-air-force-su-25-frogfoot-nearly-hits-french-c-130h-at-ndjamena-airport/?fbclid=IwAR0KTHmiyaNIwVk4erlKiKYJuvVLuTRHrbsH0PZkpb8optB13K jaUGY-OAs

[Easy Street]

Looks like it doesn't even have to be in the air for a "woopsie" to take place, sadly this one had fatal results.
https://theaviationist.com/2020/04/18/watch-rocket-accidentally-fired-by-chadian-air-force-su-25-frogfoot-nearly-hits-french-c-130h-at-ndjamena-airport/?fbclid=IwAR0KTHmiyaNIwVk4erlKiKYJuvVLuTRHrbsH0PZkpb8optB13K jaUGY-OAs

I’d say that was worthy of its own thread (mods?) as a new and significant accident. The lack of regard for forward-firing weapon safety beggars belief, and questions there for the French, too: whatever the host nation’s attitude to it, allowing your own aircraft to be put at such risk seems unwise, at best. But never mind missing the C-130, how on earth did it miss the fuel bowser directly in front of the aircraft? And then of all the things to hit... well, see the link. Very sad. Someone is in VERY big trouble.

[phil9560]

I think it passed through the bowser.

[jimjim1]

I had a look for the incident mentioned by gums and failed to find it however -

https://www.gao.gov/assets/210/203234.pdf
Stray bombs
The Navy does not have complete records on the number of bombs dropped outside the range area. By examining Navy rccords and newspaper articles, and by talking with area residents, we determined that some bombs have missed the target area. We obtained information on three incidents involving damage caused by stray bombs. The first occurred in January 1968 when an inert practice bomb dropped within 2 feet of a grocery store about 8 miles from Pinecastle. Although the building was not significantly damaged, a newspaper article describing the incident stated that someone was standin, on the other side of the wall when the bomb hit . The second ;I! cident occurred in June 1969 when five small inert rockets hit Camp Ocala, a youth camp about 4 miles from the range. About 100 people were at the camp at the time. One of the rockets damaged a propane gas tank, but no one was injured. The incident occurred at night and the pilot apparently mistook the camp for the target. The third incident occurr.ed in May 1973 when an inert 500-pound bomb was dropped abo:!i: mile from a recreational area which was occupied at the i:ji,.. This bomb started a smal.1 fire that burned about an acr'. 02 trees.

We observed several craters just outside the Pinecastli-: perimeter road which appear to have been caused by stray Live bombs. The officer-in-charge of the range told us that to his knowledge no live ordnance had been dropped since 1967 outside -the Pinecastle range boundary.

Tremors
Navy records showed only one instance where tremors damaged property. On February 16, 1973, 128 live SOO-poun


N.J. bombing range under fire over blaze - US news - Military | NBC News (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18758467/ns/us_news-military/t/tensions-smolder-between-military-neighbors/#.Xpw6EchKhhE)
But if your neighbor repeatedly set the neighborhood on fire, crashed a plane into it, and shot up the local elementary school, how neighborly would you feel?

The latest hazard caused by the range — a massive forest fire that burned 14,000 acres, damaged or destroyed a handful of homes and forced 6,000 people to flee — underscores the tensions between the base, which trains pilots bound for Iraq and Afghanistan, and the ring of senior citizen developments encroaching ever nearer.