Last October’s midair collision between two Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16s was blamed on pilot error:
The pilots…were flying in formation, conducting tricky combat maneuvers, with a third F-16 role playing as an attacking enemy. The two pilots lost sight of each other before their right wings collided 16 seconds later in clear skies.
The instructor lost control and ejected; the student returned Read more
The Air Force announced Tuesday that Capt William DuBois was killed when his F-16 crashed “in the Middle East” in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Officially, the crash was declared not combat related and was said not to have occurred in Iraq or Syria. CNN reported it occurred in Jordan.
As with all such incidents, the Air Force will investigate the cause. The crash follows another recent fatal crash out of Tyndall AFB just last month.
An F-16 pilot from Tyndall AFB was killed last Thursday morning when his jet crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
The pilot was civilian Matthew LaCourse, a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and 1978 US Air Force Academy graduate. LaCourse was a part of the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron, which is the unit fielding the pilotless QF-16s as full-scale drones. He had previously topped 2,000 hours in the F-4/QF-4, which preceded the QF-16.
As with all mishaps, Read more
The Air Force reported that two Oklahoma National Guard F-16s collided during training yesterday. One pilot ejected safely; the other returned to base.
Two Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16 fighter jets flying a training exercise out of Tulsa collided in midair over southern Kansas, causing one of the pilots to eject from the aircraft.
Oklahoma National Guard spokesman Col. Max Moss says neither pilot was seriously injured in the collision Monday afternoon southwest of Howard, Kan.
The pilot who ejected was taken to a hospital but not believed to have serious injuries. As with all mishaps, the Air Force will investigate and report on the incident some months from now.
Also at the Air Force Times. Read more
Col Williams, left, and his wife at the Misawa 2014 National Day of Prayer.
The Air Force Academy announced Col Stephen Williams has been selected for promotion to Brigadier General and for the position of Commandant of the US Air Force Academy.
A 1989 Academy graduate, he was the top engineering mechanics graduate here….
According to his official biography, Williams attended pilot training after leaving the Academy and was a distinguished graduate at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
Col Williams is an F-16 pilot by trade and is currently the Wing Commander of the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan.
Also at the local Colorado Springs Gazette.
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On February 5th, the Air Force Times reported the US Air Force has experienced a spate of problems with the emergency locator beacons intended to help rescuers find downed airmen [emphasis added]:
The Air Force spent $30 million for 17,000 of the beacons in 2009, with deliveries finalized in 2010. Two years after the first beacons were installed, crash investigators began noticing that they had not worked in multiple crashes. In fact, the beacons failed 10 times in 22 ejections, according to a review of crash reports since the beacons were installed.
The situation is so serious that one unit in Italy made a point of flying with their personal cell phones.
The article notes the incident that may have caused the greatest injection of urgency was the loss of an F-16C over the Pacific in 2012: Read more
In 2012, Lockheed Martin delivered the last F-22 off its assembly line, a mere 9 years after the first delivery of a production F-22 in 2003. The original F-22 buy plan had been 750 aircraft. The number eventually dwindled to less than 200 — with each reduction resulting in per-unit increase in cost.
By contrast, the first F-16 was delivered to the Air Force in 1979 (after the first test flight in 1974). As noted in a local paper (and repeated at the Stars and Stripes), Lockheed (who bought General Dynamics) is still churning out the F-16 after more than 4,500 have been delivered worldwide.
It is worth remembering that while technology Read more
The Air Force has released a report indicating the August midair collision of two F-16s off the coast of Virginia was caused by one of the pilot’s poor sleep habits:
The accident investigation report by Air Combat Command says the pilot had trouble balancing his Air National Guard and civilian careers and only had about four hours of sleep each night in the 48 hours prior to the August collision. The pilot needed Read more