A-10 Accidental rocket release
A-10 Accidental rocket release
The Air Force said the jet, an A-10C Thunderbolt II, popularly known as the Warthog, "unintentionally released a single M-156 rocket" at about 10:40 a.m. while on a training mission.
The Air Force said the M-156, which fires white phosphorus smoke to help mark targets and start fires, went down in a desert wash about 60 miles northeast of Tucson in an uninhabited area under the Jackal Military Operations Area, which supports air-to-air and night training missions for Davis-Monthan and Luke Air Force bases.
"This training area is not designated for munitions release," the Air Force said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...esert-n1050571
The Air Force said the M-156, which fires white phosphorus smoke to help mark targets and start fires, went down in a desert wash about 60 miles northeast of Tucson in an uninhabited area under the Jackal Military Operations Area, which supports air-to-air and night training missions for Davis-Monthan and Luke Air Force bases.
"This training area is not designated for munitions release," the Air Force said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...esert-n1050571
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Why do I assume charges would be filed?
Because I have a jaundiced view of military legal systems and would expect something on the lines of 'Pilot X was not briefed to discharge any of the weapons on A-10 serial number xx-xxxxx'
'On such and such a date pilot X did cause a M-156 to be launched occasioning an impact in an area not designated for weapon release' - and/or variations of same.
Notice that I am in no way blaming the pilot.
What I was more interested in was where you got that chip on your shoulder.
I confess that I am still interested in that, given what you shared.
Because I have a jaundiced view of military legal systems
On the flip side, we probably see eye to eye on the following:
letting loose with some Willie Pete somewhere other than on a weapons range, and when one is not in a combat zone, is certainly of interest in the locale/state in question. It's not supposed to happen.
Is where it landed in your neighborhood?
Calling it an M-156 is somewhat minimalist reporting from the D-M PR folks. The weapon itself is more familiar as the 2.75" WP. Fairly substantial rocket.
I'm surprised it was armed or in fact even carried for flight in those MOAs (Jackal & Outlaw). It's a long way from the Gila Bend ranges. Impact 60NM NE of Tucson is certainly not within the 25 meter qual for rockets at Gila Bend. Maybe he/she missed something on the walk-around.
Hope it didn't take out any endangered Horny Toads.
Though to be fair, we had a guy inadvertently jettison two drop tanks on a farm in Kansas and continued on to a long career in fighter aviation. Incident bothered him personally more than anyone else until he was assured he didn't hurt anyone. Farmer got a new driveway and his 15 minutes of fame in the local area.
I'm surprised it was armed or in fact even carried for flight in those MOAs (Jackal & Outlaw). It's a long way from the Gila Bend ranges. Impact 60NM NE of Tucson is certainly not within the 25 meter qual for rockets at Gila Bend. Maybe he/she missed something on the walk-around.
Hope it didn't take out any endangered Horny Toads.
Though to be fair, we had a guy inadvertently jettison two drop tanks on a farm in Kansas and continued on to a long career in fighter aviation. Incident bothered him personally more than anyone else until he was assured he didn't hurt anyone. Farmer got a new driveway and his 15 minutes of fame in the local area.
And a few years back>>
*This one made me laugh as if they tried to hit it they probably wouldn't have succeeded.
"Darwin police say a dummy missile has fallen off a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18A Hornet, crushing a car in a Darwin suburb. The jet was involved in the Pitch Black joint military exercises between Australian, Singaporean and British air forces. The missile landed on a four-wheel-drive parked in a panel beaters in the industrial suburb of Berrima, destroying the front of the vehicle and damaging two others. No-one was injured in the incident. A police spokesman says it was a "captive missile", not explosive but instead carrying recording equipment. He says the RAAF has been to the scene to remove the missile."
*This one made me laugh as if they tried to hit it they probably wouldn't have succeeded.
"Darwin police say a dummy missile has fallen off a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18A Hornet, crushing a car in a Darwin suburb. The jet was involved in the Pitch Black joint military exercises between Australian, Singaporean and British air forces. The missile landed on a four-wheel-drive parked in a panel beaters in the industrial suburb of Berrima, destroying the front of the vehicle and damaging two others. No-one was injured in the incident. A police spokesman says it was a "captive missile", not explosive but instead carrying recording equipment. He says the RAAF has been to the scene to remove the missile."
Whereas back in 1998:
The Ministry of Defence is investigating why two fuel tanks fell from a Royal Air Force jet onto a French town. The 222-gallon (1,000 litre) tanks dropped from an RAF Harrier GR7, bound for the Gulf, over Villemandeur, south of Paris. No-one was injured. The accident happened during an aerial refuelling operation at an altitude of about 8,000 metres (24,000ft) on Monday 2 Feb . One of the tanks fell near the intersection of two roads, the other in the grounds of a chateau. An spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "There were no injuries, only some damage to a tree. "Thankfully this is extremely unusual. The tanks have been recovered by the French authorities and an investigation is being carried out."
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Either December 1969 or January 1970 I was awoken in the middle of the night by huge explosions in the 605th Company area. The 605th was our neighbouring Company whose area was next to ours, divided by a dirt track. Naturally, we thought we were under attack and an alert was called, weapons were drawn and we all reported to our assigned places of duty.
However, after a few hours, we were stood down. It transpired that the explosions were the result of “friendly fire.” An armed aircraft of D Troop 1/4 Cav, 1st Infantry Div., located on the other side of the base had somehow, through an electrical fault, fired a salvo of rockets that travelled across the base and ended up exploding in the 605th Company area. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
However, after a few hours, we were stood down. It transpired that the explosions were the result of “friendly fire.” An armed aircraft of D Troop 1/4 Cav, 1st Infantry Div., located on the other side of the base had somehow, through an electrical fault, fired a salvo of rockets that travelled across the base and ended up exploding in the 605th Company area. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
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Also 25th October 1967 - WestPacZuni Rocket Mishap - "The United States Navy disclosed yesterday that an air-to-surface rocket accidentally ignited on the attack carrier the Coral Sea off North Vietnam this week, injuring nine seamen.
Three of the men were critically burned. All nine were flown to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.
The incident occurred Wednesday night while crewmen were assembling the Zuni rocket, used by Navy aircraft raids in Vietnam. The motor ignited and shot the rocket forward about 20 feet into a steel bulkhead.
A spokesman at the Navy fleet headquarters here said the rocket did not explode."
Three of the men were critically burned. All nine were flown to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.
The incident occurred Wednesday night while crewmen were assembling the Zuni rocket, used by Navy aircraft raids in Vietnam. The motor ignited and shot the rocket forward about 20 feet into a steel bulkhead.
A spokesman at the Navy fleet headquarters here said the rocket did not explode."
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And, On 29 July 1967, a fire broke out on board the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal after an electrical anomaly caused a Zuni rocket on an F-4B Phantom to fire, striking an external fuel tank of an A-4 Skyhawk. The flammable jet fuel spilled across the flight deck ignited and triggered a chain-reaction of explosions that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. At the time, Forrestal was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, during the Vietnam War. The ship survived, but with damage exceeding US$72 million, not including the damage to aircraft.
Whereas back in 1998:
Quote:
The Ministry of Defence is investigating why two fuel tanks fell from a Royal Air Force jet onto a French town. The 222-gallon (1,000 litre) tanks dropped from an RAF Harrier GR7, bound for the Gulf, over Villemandeur, south of Paris. No-one was injured. The accident happened during an aerial refuelling operation at an altitude of about 8,000 metres (24,000ft) on Monday 2 Feb . One of the tanks fell near the intersection of two roads, the other in the grounds of a chateau. An spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "There were no injuries, only some damage to a tree. "Thankfully this is extremely unusual. The tanks have been recovered by the French authorities and an investigation is being carried out."
Quote:
The Ministry of Defence is investigating why two fuel tanks fell from a Royal Air Force jet onto a French town. The 222-gallon (1,000 litre) tanks dropped from an RAF Harrier GR7, bound for the Gulf, over Villemandeur, south of Paris. No-one was injured. The accident happened during an aerial refuelling operation at an altitude of about 8,000 metres (24,000ft) on Monday 2 Feb . One of the tanks fell near the intersection of two roads, the other in the grounds of a chateau. An spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "There were no injuries, only some damage to a tree. "Thankfully this is extremely unusual. The tanks have been recovered by the French authorities and an investigation is being carried out."
Inadvertent release? Happened all the time. Here is a bit from my book (sorry about the plug):
'Life continued with many incidents. After all, we young things were entrusted with live ordinance. I recall one night when detailed to drop bombs on the nearby air weapon range, things went horribly wrong. Naturally we could not see in the dark, especially as this was years before night vision goggles had even been invented, let along supplied. More importantly, our vintage attack aircraft were naturally not equipped with any sophisticated navigation aids. The best we could muster was Decca. As this equipment was designed for use in North Sea trawlers, sailing at best at some 20 knots, it was not surprising that it hardly coped with our attack speeds of up to 360 knots. However, despite the vagaries of our equipment, at the end of a three-hour low-level exercise around Germany, we were to drop practice bombs on Nordhorn Range, in the dark and hopefully spot on target. As we commenced are run into the range area, but with still some 30 nautical miles north of our intended target, my navigator announced “Bomb gone”, followed by the phrase “Oh f**k”. He had misjudged the Decca readings (easy to do) and released the bomb into friendly territory. How close that was to human habitation I will never know, but we never heard of it again. Maybe that was because the unintended victim was unable to complain! '
'Life continued with many incidents. After all, we young things were entrusted with live ordinance. I recall one night when detailed to drop bombs on the nearby air weapon range, things went horribly wrong. Naturally we could not see in the dark, especially as this was years before night vision goggles had even been invented, let along supplied. More importantly, our vintage attack aircraft were naturally not equipped with any sophisticated navigation aids. The best we could muster was Decca. As this equipment was designed for use in North Sea trawlers, sailing at best at some 20 knots, it was not surprising that it hardly coped with our attack speeds of up to 360 knots. However, despite the vagaries of our equipment, at the end of a three-hour low-level exercise around Germany, we were to drop practice bombs on Nordhorn Range, in the dark and hopefully spot on target. As we commenced are run into the range area, but with still some 30 nautical miles north of our intended target, my navigator announced “Bomb gone”, followed by the phrase “Oh f**k”. He had misjudged the Decca readings (easy to do) and released the bomb into friendly territory. How close that was to human habitation I will never know, but we never heard of it again. Maybe that was because the unintended victim was unable to complain! '
At Sunny Scampton, we had a USAF exchange officer who was going through the Vulcan OCU course. He'd been on B-52s in 'Nam and told us how they used to drop on command in a 3-aircraft formation....
For months they'd been 'green' section and the bombardier navigator would listen out for the call "Green, dropping in 3-2-1..NOW!".
Then one day they were flying as 'white' section. About 15 min out, they heard the other section calling "Green, 3-2-1..NOW!". All of a sudden their Buff began to shake and shudder as their bombs were released. "That was a close call", said the bombardier navigator, "I only just made the drop!". It was then 'politely' explained to him that he'd dropped a full bomb load 15 min short of the target...
On return to Guam, they saw "More flashing red and blue lights than they knew could be on the island" as various senior folk came to ask WTF had happened.
But no-one ever complained about the improper release - perhaps because they couldn't?
For months they'd been 'green' section and the bombardier navigator would listen out for the call "Green, dropping in 3-2-1..NOW!".
Then one day they were flying as 'white' section. About 15 min out, they heard the other section calling "Green, 3-2-1..NOW!". All of a sudden their Buff began to shake and shudder as their bombs were released. "That was a close call", said the bombardier navigator, "I only just made the drop!". It was then 'politely' explained to him that he'd dropped a full bomb load 15 min short of the target...
On return to Guam, they saw "More flashing red and blue lights than they knew could be on the island" as various senior folk came to ask WTF had happened.
But no-one ever complained about the improper release - perhaps because they couldn't?
Thought police antagonist
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Might as well mention the Lightning at Leuchars which parted company with a Firestreak one day.....whilst parked on the ground. Ended up somewhere in the general direction of St.Andrews......I think.
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As I recall, I was in the hangar at the time, an F 4 in the Q.R.A. shed launched a Sidewinder at a bus on the St. Andrews road.
Fell in to the Eden Estuary fortunately.
Fell in to the Eden Estuary fortunately.
