Why all these stupid conspiracy theories?

I understand that European F-16s are often loaded with ball rounds to ensure that the CG is always in limits. So the jet in the hangar might have been carrying a routine ballast load?

Either shoddy maintenance procedures or an electrical fault caused this accident - but doesn't the F-16 gun system have fuses which can be removed when the aircraft is under rectification??

And now back to those idiots who will claim that this was down to some UFO event....:hmm:

I totally agree with ORAC. Nobody goes to work with the intention to harm anybody or to cause heavy material damage. If the conditions in the BAF are the same as in my air force, which I suspect they are, the technicians are under constant pressure to get the jets fixed and ready to fly. People are cutting corners, not because they are evil, but because they are trying to complete the tasks they are ordered to do in time. I hope that the BAF will take care of this technician and that lessons will be learned, maybe some new, but most likely old ones re-learned.

Here are some F-16 facts that might enlighten the debate:

Blk. 15 F-16’s are always loaded with live rounds as this is required due to CG requirements. There are dummy rounds available (same size and weight) but I have never seen them used or heard of any F-16 operator that does. I think they are only used for some type of gun tests where the ammo drum and feeding belt has to be tested.

Normally during light maintenance the gun ammo is not downloaded. Only missiles, bombs and expendables like chaff and flares are downloaded. The gun however is made cold in the following way which is also used during flight when a cold gun is needed (most training missions):

1: Rounds limiter switch set to ON with rounds counter set to 990. (set to OFF or ON with 510 or less on counter when hot gun needed)
2: Electrical safety pin installed. (Removed when hot gun needed)
3: Clearing sector holdback toll installed. (Removed when hot gun needed)

All 3 steps are sufficient to prevent the gun from firing on their own. Furthermore, the gun needs hydraulic pressure to operate. Without the engine running this is only possible if the jet is connected to a hydraulic test rig (normally used to test LDG gear, flight controls, wheel brakes and gun system).

Last but not least to fire the gun on the ground (without a faulty WOW switch) one would need to put the GND JETT enable switch to Enable, select a gun mode (A/A or A/G), select Master Arm switch to arm and press the trigger.

Glad nobody was seriously hurt and hope that this guy won’t be used as a scapegoat to hide a leadership problem.

Unexpected Flying Ordnance?

Thanks F16 guy for the information.

Genuine question: What happens to the CG airborne when all rounds are fired?

Aircraft retains the cartridge cases on board
 

It seems that the aircraft retains the cartridge cases on board.
"the empty case is transported back to the drum "[1]

"M103 case 1,855 grains.
Total cartridge weight ranges between 3,865 and 3,965 grains depending on exact type."[2]

So at least 1855 / 3965 * 100 = 47% of the mass remains in the aircraft after firing.

Fuel use/state may also be a factor that is considered.

[1] F-16 Armament - M61 A1 Vulcan

[2] http://navybmr.com/study%20material/...14313A_ch7.pdf - page 5 table 7-1

Does the aircraft that fired get to paint a kill on it?

Didn't you mean normalisation of devieancy instead of shoddy?

:}

I'd paint a kill on the mechanic's toolbox.

As stated, the cases remain onboard to reduce the CG shift towards the aft. The aft CG movement is normally transparent to the pilot, however the margin for successful recovery of the jet, should it go out of control, is reduced. Furthermore, moving the CG aft a bit (within limits), will result in higher G onset rates during aggressiv manouvering, possibly resulting in an AOA overshoots and worst case a departure from controlled flight. This can be an issue with our old analog FLCS on the Blk. 10 and 15. Blk. 10 are most prone as they only have the small horizontal stabs. Digital FLCS F-16’s might not be prone to this issue but I don’t know since I haven’t flown one).

Couple of panels, can of paint, rest will buff out

Personally i find that rather sickening, the poor guy is probably going through hell knowing he has injured some of his mates, would you wish the same for the A-10 crew that took out some APC in a Blue on Blue?....... I thought not.

Sorry guys I had to say it, no difference what job we do,

Agreed. I think it was funny. And would paint the kill on the tool box. And jet.

I witnessed a Canberra BI8 let off a few 20mm Ball across Wildenrath airfield. Apart from a small dent in a SNCO's career there was no damage - the ac was on a safe heading.

Yes, but not funny for all I suggest. I once found and needed to disarm a Lightning's guns (30mm HE) in the hangar at Gut in the late 60's. Not the armourers' fault, but that of the night line-controller who'd missed the need on an ex-QRA jet. As it was, the ac was then on jacks and pointed at the rest of the line!

Happy days!

Sorry for what may seem like a stupid question (I've never walked around a live armed fast-jet), but what did you do for missiles and/or bombs? Missiles seem like they'd be a lot harder to avoid if the worst happened (and obviously bombs too, but that goes without saying...)

With safety pins fitted missiles and bombs are reasonably inert. Taking a typical bomb as an example, it takes signals from a device (with various safety systems) to get the cartridges to fire to release the locks and push the weapon from the jet - as long as the safety pins have been left out. From there it is just a crush hazard to anything underneath. For a weapon to go bang the fuse needs to be told what to do, often just after release but before the electrical cable is pulled free and then (typically) it needs a further mechanical line to be pulled free after release. Even then the bomb is not fully armed, needing a time delay or a given airspeed over an arming vane etc before getting to the point where the fuze is live enough to do impact/void sensing/distance ranging before going bang.

A loaded and cocked gun may just need an electrical impulse to fire and may be self-sustaining once firing (depending on type - some guns require AC electrical or hydraulic power to cycle).