Greek F-16 down...
Summary:
The holes in this particular cheese appear to be:
There's no Take-Off Trim switch in the F-16, unlike F-18, M2000, etc.
A/c has high AUW,is a twin-sticker, has external fuel and a slightly asymmetric load (ACMI pod). There's a slight right crosswind on the runway. All these tend to increase the severity of the subsequent problem.
Pilot's flight bag filled the map case, leaving 3 TLP checklists needing stowing.
Greeks do the End of Runway Inspection on the ramp (SOP for them at TLP), therefore the pilot does the Before Take-Off checks before this. This is 20 minutes before take-off.
The manual Yaw and Roll trims get moved to to full right rudder and partly right roll not long after the Before Take-Off checks are complete (and before Taxi). The Manual Trim panel is well back on the left console, front cockpit. A TLP checklist stuck back there would cause the noted trim deflections.
The aircraft then waits in the leak check area near the runway for 3 minutes, but the Before Take-Off checks are not repeated.
On the take-off roll, the left rudder inputs required to keep straight are by chance almost identical to the recently previous flight by this pilot in this aircraft, when there was a much stronger right crosswind.
On take-off, the pilot tries to counter the roll/yaw with full back and left stick. Handling in the Sim shows this cannot recover the a/c. Left rudder would have recovered the aircraft, as would reducing the AOA and full left stick.
The holes in this particular cheese appear to be:
There's no Take-Off Trim switch in the F-16, unlike F-18, M2000, etc.
A/c has high AUW,is a twin-sticker, has external fuel and a slightly asymmetric load (ACMI pod). There's a slight right crosswind on the runway. All these tend to increase the severity of the subsequent problem.
Pilot's flight bag filled the map case, leaving 3 TLP checklists needing stowing.
Greeks do the End of Runway Inspection on the ramp (SOP for them at TLP), therefore the pilot does the Before Take-Off checks before this. This is 20 minutes before take-off.
The manual Yaw and Roll trims get moved to to full right rudder and partly right roll not long after the Before Take-Off checks are complete (and before Taxi). The Manual Trim panel is well back on the left console, front cockpit. A TLP checklist stuck back there would cause the noted trim deflections.
The aircraft then waits in the leak check area near the runway for 3 minutes, but the Before Take-Off checks are not repeated.
On the take-off roll, the left rudder inputs required to keep straight are by chance almost identical to the recently previous flight by this pilot in this aircraft, when there was a much stronger right crosswind.
On take-off, the pilot tries to counter the roll/yaw with full back and left stick. Handling in the Sim shows this cannot recover the a/c. Left rudder would have recovered the aircraft, as would reducing the AOA and full left stick.
Fatal accidents are an ever present risk - mercificully they are rare in the world of today's military aviation. I can barely imagine what squadron life must have been like in the 1950s when fast jet crashes were seemingly a weekly event.
The only thing that can be done is to honour the dead and learn what happened so that the next crew gets to go home that night.
Tragic, RIP.
The only thing that can be done is to honour the dead and learn what happened so that the next crew gets to go home that night.
Tragic, RIP.
