CO writes off P-3
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CO writes off P-3
Couldn't find this in a search, some interesting points for COs out there
Report: Pilot in crash behind on training - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times
Report: Pilot in crash behind on training
Some nasty pics of the aircraft contained on the URL above 
Report: Pilot in crash behind on training - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times
Report: Pilot in crash behind on training
The commanding officer of a P-3 Orion squadron who overshot a runway and crashed a specialized $93 million plane in Afghanistan last year was not current on his flight-hour requirements and was violating Navy rules prohibiting jet-lagged pilots from flying, investigators found.
Cmdr. Llewellyn Lewis, 41, was fired shortly after the Oct. 20 mishap when he was piloting the P-3 that missed the runway and went up in flames at Bagram Air Base. He was the commanding officer of Special Projects Patrol Squadron 1 based at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine.
Lewis brought the plane in too fast, hit the brakes and skidded off the runway. The starboard landing gear was sheared off, two starboard side propellers broke off and the right wing caught fire as the plane came to a stop, an investigation found. One crew member suffered a twisted ankle and all five walked away from the aircraft.
Lewis had failed to meet the pilot proficiency requirements — at least 10 flight hours per month — for five of the six months preceding the crash, according to the Judge Advocate General Manual report, or JAGMan.
Lewis assigned himself as pilot of the plane after he had traveled across 9˝ time zones during the previous 46 hours. Despite regulations requiring several days of rest after such a trip, he took the controls 14 hours after arriving at a forward operating base, the name of which was redacted.
“[Lewis] failed to exercise sound and reasonable judgment and through his negligence he destroyed the aircraft and put the crew in unnecessary danger. He didn’t know or understand he did not have sufficient runway to stop the aircraft,” the report concludes.
He “could have and should have” aborted the landing and tried again, the report says.
According to the report, Lewis was unable to sign for the aircraft because his name was not in the maintenance database. But, the report said, he told the crew: “No question here. I am the CO and this is my aircraft.”
A crew member told investigators that Lewis “had to be coached on nearly all aspects of the combat arrival.”
When asked why he failed to maintain pilot proficiency, Lewis “said that CO duties, his desire to spread flight time with junior pilots and aircraft availability” were factors.
But Lewis’ commander said: “I found his excuses for not flying to be unpersuasive. He was not setting the proper example for his squadron,” according to the report.
Under Navy rules, pilots should allow an additional day for each hour exceeding a three-hour time change. When asked why he didn’t follow those guidelines, Lewis told investigators, “That’s never been our culture.”
Just before the crash, Lewis failed to run through the landing checklist at 500 feet. He told investigators that the checklist is “just a technique.”
Lewis tried to blame the crash in part on the cockpit arrangement, saying he “did not have airspeed in my scan as much as I would” in other versions of the P-3. But investigators said there was no significant difference in the placement of the airspeed indicator in the various aircraft models Lewis flew.
After the crash, when he climbed out of the burning plane, Lewis laid down on the wing and put his hands over his head. He said he “stopped there for a second, when the enormity of the whole thing hit him.”
Two flight engineers grabbed his boot and yanked him off the wing as a crash crew responded to extinguish the flames.
VPU-1 flies a specialized version of the recon plane, the P-3 “Reef Point,” which includes additional long-range cameras and electro-optical sensors.
After he was relieved of command, Lewis was assigned to Joint Special Operations Command, Aviation Tactics Evaluation Group, at Fort Bragg, N.C., Navy records show.
Cmdr. Llewellyn Lewis, 41, was fired shortly after the Oct. 20 mishap when he was piloting the P-3 that missed the runway and went up in flames at Bagram Air Base. He was the commanding officer of Special Projects Patrol Squadron 1 based at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine.
Lewis brought the plane in too fast, hit the brakes and skidded off the runway. The starboard landing gear was sheared off, two starboard side propellers broke off and the right wing caught fire as the plane came to a stop, an investigation found. One crew member suffered a twisted ankle and all five walked away from the aircraft.
Lewis had failed to meet the pilot proficiency requirements — at least 10 flight hours per month — for five of the six months preceding the crash, according to the Judge Advocate General Manual report, or JAGMan.
Lewis assigned himself as pilot of the plane after he had traveled across 9˝ time zones during the previous 46 hours. Despite regulations requiring several days of rest after such a trip, he took the controls 14 hours after arriving at a forward operating base, the name of which was redacted.
“[Lewis] failed to exercise sound and reasonable judgment and through his negligence he destroyed the aircraft and put the crew in unnecessary danger. He didn’t know or understand he did not have sufficient runway to stop the aircraft,” the report concludes.
He “could have and should have” aborted the landing and tried again, the report says.
According to the report, Lewis was unable to sign for the aircraft because his name was not in the maintenance database. But, the report said, he told the crew: “No question here. I am the CO and this is my aircraft.”
A crew member told investigators that Lewis “had to be coached on nearly all aspects of the combat arrival.”
When asked why he failed to maintain pilot proficiency, Lewis “said that CO duties, his desire to spread flight time with junior pilots and aircraft availability” were factors.
But Lewis’ commander said: “I found his excuses for not flying to be unpersuasive. He was not setting the proper example for his squadron,” according to the report.
Under Navy rules, pilots should allow an additional day for each hour exceeding a three-hour time change. When asked why he didn’t follow those guidelines, Lewis told investigators, “That’s never been our culture.”
Just before the crash, Lewis failed to run through the landing checklist at 500 feet. He told investigators that the checklist is “just a technique.”
Lewis tried to blame the crash in part on the cockpit arrangement, saying he “did not have airspeed in my scan as much as I would” in other versions of the P-3. But investigators said there was no significant difference in the placement of the airspeed indicator in the various aircraft models Lewis flew.
After the crash, when he climbed out of the burning plane, Lewis laid down on the wing and put his hands over his head. He said he “stopped there for a second, when the enormity of the whole thing hit him.”
Two flight engineers grabbed his boot and yanked him off the wing as a crash crew responded to extinguish the flames.
VPU-1 flies a specialized version of the recon plane, the P-3 “Reef Point,” which includes additional long-range cameras and electro-optical sensors.
After he was relieved of command, Lewis was assigned to Joint Special Operations Command, Aviation Tactics Evaluation Group, at Fort Bragg, N.C., Navy records show.
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Wouldn't be overly surprised if he self-authed.
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Gentlemen,
I happen to have a folder on my desk that has to do with something similar but no mishap. OPNAVINST 3710 chap 3 para 3.5.1 has a note about current qualified personnel in command that while they may command the aircraft:
NOTE
The provisions of the two above paragraphs shall not be used to circumvent normal NATOPS qualification procedures if the officer desires to physically pilot the acft. Flights that require a NATOPS qualified crew shall not be physically piloted by any individual not so qualified; however the flight may be directed by the officer embarked.
The squadron CO signs the flight schedule after it is screened by Ops and DSS for crew proficiency. The computer program used to is supposed to be used was designed by computer geeks for a perfect world, one in which the on line data bases always talk to each other and there are no other glitches.
Minimums can be waived by the CO after advisement by the relevant staff subject matter experts.
S/F, FOG
I happen to have a folder on my desk that has to do with something similar but no mishap. OPNAVINST 3710 chap 3 para 3.5.1 has a note about current qualified personnel in command that while they may command the aircraft:
NOTE
The provisions of the two above paragraphs shall not be used to circumvent normal NATOPS qualification procedures if the officer desires to physically pilot the acft. Flights that require a NATOPS qualified crew shall not be physically piloted by any individual not so qualified; however the flight may be directed by the officer embarked.
The squadron CO signs the flight schedule after it is screened by Ops and DSS for crew proficiency. The computer program used to is supposed to be used was designed by computer geeks for a perfect world, one in which the on line data bases always talk to each other and there are no other glitches.
Minimums can be waived by the CO after advisement by the relevant staff subject matter experts.
S/F, FOG
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Both the USMC and USN the Commanding Officer, Acting CO or detachment CO signs the flight schedule. Copies of the flight schedule are forwarded to higher at least one day prior to the flight schedule's execution.
If standby, alert, etc. lines then the crew(s) are to be current and qualified for all the missions they can be assigned.
Crew, mission, or training code changes on the day of execution are to routed through the same chain as the original flight schedule unless a role-ex plan has already been incorporated into the original flight schedule.
S/F, FOG
If standby, alert, etc. lines then the crew(s) are to be current and qualified for all the missions they can be assigned.
Crew, mission, or training code changes on the day of execution are to routed through the same chain as the original flight schedule unless a role-ex plan has already been incorporated into the original flight schedule.
S/F, FOG
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
More senior officers have tried to kill me than have junior jet jocks. Its all in the log book. One SO, eventually ACM, was so 'good' that I contrived never to fly with him as Captain.
Some that I have flown with have been a MRAF, now he was both good and safe but he had done 500 hours a year as a wg cdr, an AM (as a wg cdr) who tried to get my pilot to kill me, an AVM who as a sqn ldr and my captain and also tried to kill me at least twice, an Air Cdre but we knew his technique so we kept out of his way if we could, an Air Cdre (then wg cdr) that tried to get my AVM to kill me, an Air Commodore (as a gp capt) again who had a good go.
There must be something in the march to the stars that makes them different.
Some that I have flown with have been a MRAF, now he was both good and safe but he had done 500 hours a year as a wg cdr, an AM (as a wg cdr) who tried to get my pilot to kill me, an AVM who as a sqn ldr and my captain and also tried to kill me at least twice, an Air Cdre but we knew his technique so we kept out of his way if we could, an Air Cdre (then wg cdr) that tried to get my AVM to kill me, an Air Commodore (as a gp capt) again who had a good go.
There must be something in the march to the stars that makes them different.
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Pontius,
The note I pasted is from a document signed by the Secretary of the Navy in compliance with a directive from the Secretary of Defense. The note is written in blood.
There is a strong tendency to "I remember when I could do such and such" combined warm versions of self delusions far removed lengthy and detailed debriefs. Add the proportion of rank gradient that can go with the scenario and you have a not so tasty result.S/F, FOG
The note I pasted is from a document signed by the Secretary of the Navy in compliance with a directive from the Secretary of Defense. The note is written in blood.
There is a strong tendency to "I remember when I could do such and such" combined warm versions of self delusions far removed lengthy and detailed debriefs. Add the proportion of rank gradient that can go with the scenario and you have a not so tasty result.S/F, FOG
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Like Pontius, I have flown with a number of V senior officers at various times in my career. One 4-star had about 1500 hours total, but he was exceptional in his handling of a big aircraft he had never flown before. I would class him as a natural. With a fast jet background, he was fast-tracked throughout his career [as a single-seat - even faster].
I have also met some COs who turned out to be arrogant sons-of-bitches with whom I would not climbed aboard an airframe - they were dangerous, with an over-inflated sense of their abilities and who believe that the rules don't always apply to them. One I flew with did not know the correct procedure for flying in certain hazardous conditions, yet proceeded to incorrectly criticised a pilot for flying that particular procedure.
This occurance seems to me to be that kind of incident.
The P3 inquiry will ascertain the facts - I await their findings with interest...
On the other hand, on 6 Jul we will bury an outstanding CO who was exceptional in every way, and with whom it was my very great privilege to fly.
I have also met some COs who turned out to be arrogant sons-of-bitches with whom I would not climbed aboard an airframe - they were dangerous, with an over-inflated sense of their abilities and who believe that the rules don't always apply to them. One I flew with did not know the correct procedure for flying in certain hazardous conditions, yet proceeded to incorrectly criticised a pilot for flying that particular procedure.
This occurance seems to me to be that kind of incident.
The P3 inquiry will ascertain the facts - I await their findings with interest...
On the other hand, on 6 Jul we will bury an outstanding CO who was exceptional in every way, and with whom it was my very great privilege to fly.
Last edited by FJJP; 1st Jul 2009 at 00:03.
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What's wrong with this guy, even following a combat approach, the P3 (any model) doesn't need wheel brakes, those four great big paddles can be selected into reverse before touchdown and are MUCH more efficient at stopping the airplane on a dime, if necessary.
Cheers...FD...
Cheers...FD...
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Deliverance says: I'm glad we don't have rules for minimum flight hours per month in the RAF, how many FJ crews not on ops achieve that measly figure?
You do surprise me. I've been out of touch with the front line for nearly 15 years, but at that time station executives on FJs were allocated 10 hrs a month. This was also considered to be a target. It was acknowledged that this might not be achievable on a regular basis, but Group HQ would ask awkward questions if you failed to get 30 hrs a quarter.
IIRC the 10 hr a month rule was introduced in the 60s following a couple of incidents/accidents in the Lightning force involving pilots in ground appointments who were a bit short of recent flying practice.
You do surprise me. I've been out of touch with the front line for nearly 15 years, but at that time station executives on FJs were allocated 10 hrs a month. This was also considered to be a target. It was acknowledged that this might not be achievable on a regular basis, but Group HQ would ask awkward questions if you failed to get 30 hrs a quarter.
IIRC the 10 hr a month rule was introduced in the 60s following a couple of incidents/accidents in the Lightning force involving pilots in ground appointments who were a bit short of recent flying practice.
Last edited by grobace; 1st Jul 2009 at 07:30. Reason: typo
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C130j, does Dutch Holland ring a bell?
It is often easier to turn a blind eye to a 'good bloke' but shaft a nobody who makes a minor error.
We had a drunk on our sqn and everyone knew except the flt cdr would do nothing - easy option. Eventually the guy was posted to Binbrook Ops and someone had the balls to chop him.
It is often easier to turn a blind eye to a 'good bloke' but shaft a nobody who makes a minor error.
We had a drunk on our sqn and everyone knew except the flt cdr would do nothing - easy option. Eventually the guy was posted to Binbrook Ops and someone had the balls to chop him.
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C130j, does Dutch Holland ring a bell?
Yes, lots of big ones. Which is all the more reason to wonder that if this guy was out of control, how come the system did not pick it up earlier.
As I said, would make for a good case study...
It's the culture....
In my limited time working with the USN and for a USN Captain, the phrase I grew to dislike was:
"Navy can do!!" - even when it was apparent that they couldn't, and in several cases, shouldn't. It led us down blind alleys and into situations we didn't need to be in.
Almost on a par, was the phrase "Of course I never take my leave. Anyone who can take two weeks leave hasn't really got a job!" Yeah right.
You can almost hear the guy saying "Rest is for wimps, I can hack it!"
Bosses like that we can all do without.
The Ancient Mariner
"Navy can do!!" - even when it was apparent that they couldn't, and in several cases, shouldn't. It led us down blind alleys and into situations we didn't need to be in.
Almost on a par, was the phrase "Of course I never take my leave. Anyone who can take two weeks leave hasn't really got a job!" Yeah right.
You can almost hear the guy saying "Rest is for wimps, I can hack it!"
Bosses like that we can all do without.
The Ancient Mariner