Learjet down over Germany after collision with Eurofighter

[armchairpilot94116]

IIRC a number of years ago a Learjet freshly hired by the Taiwanese Air Force was towing a target for a SAM test and the missile hit the Learjet instead of the target. Destroying the jet with no survivors.

Not a good idea.

*found a link*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_tug

"Target towing operations are not without risk. On September 17, 1994 a Golden Eagle Aviation Lear 35A was accidentally shot down by a ship of the Taiwanese Navy during a live-fire exercise.[5]"

[exhorder]

If anyone's interested, the preliminary crash report has been released: http://www.bfu-web.de/DE/Publikation...ublicationFile (in german).

According to this report, the Learjet flew in loose formation with the EF when it executed a left-hand turn, in order to follow the fighter. This maneuver turned out to be too tight, the crew having lost sight of the EF. The aircraft then collided with the EF's underbelly, ripping off its fuel tank and heavily damaging the right hand engine. Subsequently, the Learjet disintegrated in mid-air.

The report also includes some pictures, scroll to page 41.

[noske]

The BFU have published an interim report as part of their monthly bulletin (German only), pp. 30 - 46 in the PDF:
http://www.bfu-web.de/DE/Publikation...ublicationFile

[Basil]

Had a few intercepts during airline operation for training purposes that way.

I was never asked. I'd already considered and the reply would have invariably been negative.

[BOAC]

I believe 'noske' (Post #36) had more in the post yesterday (from the German report, I believe) - which seems to have disappeared. I recall it was said the Typhoon began a gentle left turn, the Lear followed but turned tighter and lost sight of the lead. I do not see any need to 'review the procedures' since a real intercept is unlikely to have studied any 'review'. If the foregoing is correct, it was the Lear that caused the collision, and it would by no means be the first mid-air due to becoming 'unsighted'. The damage (pages 40/41 et al) to the rear of the Tiffy is significant.

Will the report be published in English?

[Basil]

it would by no means be the first mid-air due to becoming 'unsighted'.

Yup. There was one such by Cotty Canberras about 1970.
In a very adjacent JP, I lost contact one day - wee fright

[noske]

I believe 'noske' (Post #36) had more in the post yesterday

No, certainly not me.

Will the report be published in English?

Not likely. Your best source for English summaries of BFU reports is usually Aviation Herald, but they don't cover this particular accident (doesn't fit their charta).

Things in the report that caught my eye:

• In the AIP excerpt (p. 43) it is suggested to give the "follow me" signal from a position slightly above and to the left ahead of the intercepted aircraft. The pilot of the damaged fighter just states that he was "to the left" of the Learjet (p. 34).
• Communication just before the collision (pp. 32-33): Starting at (t-18s) the controller gave a lengthy instruction to the Learjet, which the PIC acknowledged at (t-5s). At (t-10s) the FO said "Can you take over, I can't see him any more", and the PIC replied at (t-2s): "Take the computer, please" ("Nimm mal den Computer"). Said computer would have been a tablet computer that they were carrying as additional navigation equipment (p. 36).

[BOAC]

"No, certainly not me." - sorry for the mis-ident. Someone put a link to the report plus the extra bits and that has 'disappeared'.

Found it - two threads, Mods asleep? http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...ml#post8670137