F16 oops

[Thunderhawk88]

I can't tell an A/B from an E, so that's either a $30 million or $45 million aircraft. Either way, it's an expensive screwup.

At least they put the cover over the air intake. You don't want one of these.

(that guy lived).

THAT was a major piece of FOD!

 

[steveno]

the learning curve about doing things on a flightline can be hard. before I got out in 1973 I worked with PanAm on the other side of the airport at Frankfurt their avionics shop had a VW bus for use on the flightline. when I started there I noticed a bunch of scraps on the side of the bus and the roof. when the 747's first started coming out they never gave it much of a thought and drove a little to close to back of a 747 that was underway and it rolled the bus a couple of times. luckily the chewing out he got was worse than the bumps and scratches he got from rolling around in the bus

 

[feralmerril]

Big Cholla, you might know of a airstrip called Hart Mine strip about 25 miles SW of searchlight? Christmas of I think, 1976 I found a drugger C-45 that had ground looped. I had just left some friends at searchlight in my piper tri pacer and was still talking to them on the CB. I landed by the plane, got info, the door was unlocked. It turned out to be quite a adventure. I posted the story here a couple years ago and I am looking for it, think I have it stored on my computer. Hope to find it and repost it. It was interesting and I got involved.
You mentioned looking for pot. I didnt read too much about it last summer but in 2012 they found about 8 gardens in the boonies around here that I had read of. I had been riding quad around almost all of them at one time or another. Wondered what those black PC pipes running all around on the ground in the middle of nowhere were about! Sounds like you have had your share of fun!

 

[feralmerril]

Found my old story:
FINDING THE C-45
The best thing I found was a beachcraft twin airplane, better known as a C-45 or beach 18. Right after christmass of 1976 I was flying from searchlight nevada towards southern california. I spotted it groundlooped on a remote desert strip that really wasnt much more than a gravel trail or road. Soon as I spotted it I knew it was a drug runner. I buzzed it, checking the area and was satisfied there was no activity or a human in many miles and decided to land and check it out. I had spotted vehicle tracks going to and away from it before I landed. I was in CB contact with a couple of friends I had just left at a strip just south of searchlight and let them know what I was doing. I could see where the pilot had to land long due to a rain washed gully or ditch about a quarter way down the strip. That caused him to "run out" of strip and he had to ground loop it on purpose. He knocked down a jousha tree just in front of the rudder and emperage area when he spun it around. It bent the fueslage sort of like a broken wrist. The door was unlocked and I got in the plane. The dirt tracks all looked fresh and the 8 day clock was still running. The passenger seats were gone to just haul cargo. I got info off the paperwork and the plane was registered to a female in burbank california.
One of my pals that I dropped off at searchlight was also a pilot. My other friend was a aircraft mechanic and inspector and we all worked for lockheed aircraft at palmdale. We had been on a lark just boondocking over the holidays. They had a 4 WD with a camper. About a week prior we had flew the area known as the old woman mountains etc. They had a fantacy about exploreing, finding old buidings or a mine or whatever else. Really they were just getting away from their wives for a few days to do a little boondocking, gambling and drinking and had talked me into this adventure. The plan was they drove out first and was going to flnd a spot I could land in. I was working OT on christmass eve and going to fly out to them christmass day. Christmass eve before I was going to work (security guard) they called me and said they couldnt find a suitabel place for me to land as it had been raining hard and there were rain gullys all over. They said for me to just land near the town of searchlight and they would pick me up.
I took down the info on the plane and got up in the air and radio`ed them. They had the same flight sectional I did. I flew back to lancaster and reported my find to the FAA. They hadnt a report on it. My buddys got into it latter that night. They even fired up one engine. They were drunk and one fell into a cactus and the other pulled spines out of his butt! They were leaveing the area the next morning and met a truck with 2 men and a woman about 10 miles out headed towards the plane.
They turned around, gave them some time and drove back. They said they had the nose cone removed and was takeing stuff out!
They yelled over to them that they should leave the plane alone as they had a buddy that reported it. They said the people were armed and swore at them so they left. They drove out to I think essex and called the sheriffs. They had to wait hours on the sheriff to show and make a report.
The next day I got ahold of some FAA offical and asked about fileing salvage on the plane. He put me in touch with a los vegas detective. After a number of back and forth calls the detective told me he had been following this drug gang for over 6 months and that they had killed people etc. We went to a lawyer and basicly she said there was no "paperwork" to file! She pulled out a book on shipwreck laws and basicly said we could recover the wreckage and if the owners showed up we could charge them storage!
We did get back to plane a few times. I figured the first time our best bet would be new years eve, and 4 of us went in at midnight armed to the teeth. I even walked in the last mile or so by myself to see if there was any activity. Never will forget that hike! I did have a AR-15 though. No one was there. All the instruments were already removed! My buddy with the truck built a hoist on the back and we went again about a week latter at night again, another hike in and out by myself the last mile. I was dissapointed to find the plane laying on its belly with the engines gone! Oil was still dripping out of cut lines!
A few years latter I was at california city and spotted a similar plane. I made some joke to the FOB that I once owned one like it for a day! I told him the story and he told me he got burned on the deal too! Someone had hired him to recover the airplane and he did get it and got stiffed on his work!
We got next to nothing, but it was a good adventure!
Were it to happen again I would have put guards on it, get friends to repair it and fly it out! Some of that I did plan, but ran into trouble convinceing my friends in time.
Both of my friends are dead.

 

[Big Cholla]

Hart Mine, CA

Big Cholla, you might know of a airstrip called Hart Mine strip about 25 miles SW of searchlight? Christmas of I think, 1976 I found a drugger C-45 that had ground looped. I had just left some friends at searchlight in my piper tri pacer and was still talking to them on the CB. I landed by the plane, got info, the door was unlocked. It turned out to be quite a adventure. I posted the story here a couple years ago and I am looking for it, think I have it stored on my computer. Hope to find it and repost it. It was interesting and I got involved.

Feral: Yes, I know that strip well. I landed there once to pickup a fellow LEO that was in that area on a manhunt and started exhibiting signs of a medical problem. Then later I went back in my personal C-180 to hunt coyotes. Later I landed on top of the tailing pile of that mine. I was not here in '75. I was living near Phoenix at the time. I did find a Beechcraft D-18 abandoned for a few days after a wheels up landing on the Pierce's Ferry airstrip in 1990. It turned out it was a legit Grand Canyon tour flight that ran out of fuel and the pilot did a dead stick landing on that strip. The pilot had to retract the wheels after touchdown to prevent going off the end of the mesa. The owners came back in a couple of days with a salvage crew and took the wings off and loaded it all on a flatbed trailer. You kind of pushed "The Envelope" of that Tri-Pacer, didn't you? The very first private airplane that I ever flew or even had flown in was a Tri-Pacer. I flew one in Alaska that had been converted into what was a great floatplane. They re-engined it with a more powerful engine that had a constant speed prop, extended the wings one rib and put super tips on the wings. I really liked it, but only got to fly it a couple of times. ........... Big Cholla

 

[feralmerril]

My tri pacer was metalized. It was a great airplane and I didnt realize what I had lucked into! I later cracked it up but thats another story. I had a bachelor uncle that had died. (Actually committed suicide). He had told me he was going to leave me some money and told me not to save it but blow it on something I always wanted to do. Said he wished he had. I had already started and stopped flying lessons but had quit due to lack of money. I took the money and bought that tri pacer for $5,000s! Got my license in it.
Cracked it up and bought my citabria. Someone else badly ground looped it and I have been out of the flying thing for many years. Now its just about done and I am getting ready for my physical. Still have to get some time and get a bi annual etc. Its a long sad story but basicly I want to fly for awhile to feed my ego and prove to myself I can still fly. And then sell it and buy a new UTV side by side etc. I havent flown in ages, have about 400 hours. Years ago I did fly the citabria to wisconsin and back and lived. Merril

 

[Doug M.]

I suspect that the 3 photos in the first post are in the encyclopedia entry for "negative NCOER" as an illustration. That entry is probably also cross referenced to "career limiting maneuver".

 

[chud333]

Bet that crew chief is now in "supply" stationed somewhere around
Anchorage, AK

Chuck

 

[Big Cholla]

Bet that crew chief is now in "supply" stationed somewhere around
Anchorage, AK

Chuck

No, Anchorage would be far too good of duty for him. More like Creech AFB, NV. Have you ever seen Creech? ............ Big Cholla

 

[DR505]

I remember a co-worker of mine was pre-flighting an F-14B to take up and had a caution light for the nose gear. The Plane Captain told him to cycle the gear switch as it was probably a bad reading. Well, when he hit the switch the nose gear worked as advertised, retracted, and smashed the nose and AWG-9 radar right into the deck! Oops. Several $Million in damages.

 

[Rastoff]

Bet that crew chief is now in "supply" stationed somewhere around
Anchorage, AK

Chuck

They may have done stuff like this a long time ago, but not now. I guarantee that the crew chief of this incident, at worst, lost his certification for engine runs and had to re-take the class. I've seen it many times. Truth be told, the damage to that F-16 was probably not that bad.

I remember a co-worker of mine was pre-flighting an F-14B to take up and had a caution light for the nose gear. The Plane Captain told him to cycle the gear switch as it was probably a bad reading. Well, when he hit the switch the nose gear worked as advertised, retracted, and smashed the nose and AWG-9 radar right into the deck! Oops. Several $Million in damages.

If the gear on this plane actually retracted, there was a lot wrong with this plane and it was a good thing they found out before it flew.

All aircraft have a WOW (weight on wheels) sensor. This disables many functions while the plane is on the ground. One of those things is to disallow unlocking of the gear. Further, for the gear to retract the plane needs hydraulic power. The only way to get that is with the engines running, not usually necessary on a pre-flight, or with a thing we call a MULE attached which is never used for a pre-flight. Further still, the gear is pinned when on the ground before the pilot gets in. That pin isn't pulled until just before the plane taxis or at what we call "last chance" just before take off.

So, for that plane to have collapsed, there were a lot of screw ups. I'm not saying I don't believe it happened, I do. I'm just noting how many things had to go wrong for it to happen. Also, the very first thing you do when applying power to an aircraft is check the down/lock lights for the landing gear. If you don't have three lights, the next thing you do is get out of the aircraft. Cycling the landing gear lever is really bad advice.

 

[DR505]

All aircraft have a WOW (weight on wheels) sensor. This disables many functions while the plane is on the ground. One of those things is to disallow unlocking of the gear. Further, for the gear to retract the plane needs hydraulic power. The only way to get that is with the engines running, not usually necessary on a pre-flight, or with a thing we call a MULE attached which is never used for a pre-flight. Further still, the gear is pinned when on the ground before the pilot gets in. That pin isn't pulled until just before the plane taxis or at what we call "last chance" just before take off.

So, for that plane to have collapsed, there were a lot of screw ups. I'm not saying I don't believe it happened, I do. I'm just noting how many things had to go wrong for it to happen. Also, the very first thing you do when applying power to an aircraft is check the down/lock lights for the landing gear. If you don't have three lights, the next thing you do is get out of the aircraft. Cycling the landing gear lever is really bad advice.

Oh I agree screw-ups do happen, with sometime fatal results. The below photo shows clearly what happens when you do not follow procedures and you:

1. Bypass the weight on wheels switch on an A-7
2. Forget to download the 20mm HEI ammunition
3. Add power to the gatling gun so you can op-check it.

Three sailors died that night when several rounds of 20mm HEI hit the alert KA-6 tanker. The two ordies responsible went to Leavenworth, and the squadron CO was relieved. We lost a total of 7 aircraft that night and were non-operational for almost four days. The below airframe was a total loss and went over the side, with 1 other. Five more were packaged and stored for re-fit once back Stateside. We had FOD-walk downs about once an hour for days. The pad-eyes were filled with solidified aluminum.

KA-6 Tanker on USS Nimitz, CVN-68, WESTPAC '88-'89.

 

[PR24]

Wruhh wrohh

The tail markings ID this plane as an Alaska based fighter. Is the intake guard to prevent the inhalation of bears, moose & caribou during ramp taxiing?

Looks like the taxiing test didn't go so well......

 

[PR24]

Turbofan damage.

I can't tell an A/B from an E, so that's either a $30 million or $45 million aircraft. Either way, it's an expensive screwup.

At least they put the cover over the air intake. You don't want one of these.

(that guy lived).

A coworker of mine was a maint. T/Sgt in the USAF. He had a moron in his group that required 'special' attention.

One time he was on the opposite side of the taxi ramp fixing a lamp as an F-16 was rolling in from the runway. The T/Sgt told him to stay put & let the aircraft pass.....he decided to "race the train" & dropped a wrench on the taxiway. The 16's intake sucked it up & basically destroyed the engine. Huge flame out, halon deployed & one VERY pissed off full bird colonel; the pilot & wing commander. That airman was told his enlistment was cancelled & he could leave the Air Force. :mad

 

[Rastoff]

The tail markings ID this plane as an Alaska based fighter. Is the intake guard to prevent the inhalation of bears, moose & caribou during ramp taxiing?

Looks like the taxiing test didn't go so well......

That guard is to keep people out of the intake.

 

[feralmerril]

When I worked at lockheed we got a freak heavy wind storm and I seen it weather cock a L 10-11 right into the wind almost 80 degrees and it was on chocks etc! It also blew down a line of power poles that ran behind it. Thats a huge airliner!

 

[ladyT]

Kuwaitis aren't the only soldiers who do that. I've seen M1s upside down and one their sides, courtesy of US Army hotrodders. My favorite one was actually a M163 Vulcan at FT Hood. My driver pulled at a ford where there was a SGT standing in fast moving water over his boots. Said he was standing on his M163 and got caught in the flash flood. We had that one in my fire control maintenance shop for 4 months getting the radar to run right.

I've see a Hemitt stuck. Now remember this is an 8 wheel drive vechicle. Fool got it stuck.

Of course there was the guy on site that had the feed horn of the radar off during a rainstorm. The waveguide filled up with water and they were wondering why the thing wouldn't work. They called us out to fix it. My E-7 was livid.

 

[bobf]

The tail markings ID this plane as an Alaska based fighter. Is the intake guard to prevent the inhalation of bears, moose & caribou during ramp taxiing?

Looks like the taxiing test didn't go so well......

It was at Eielson AFB this was too.

 

[PR24]

Yea a cow moose could defiantly screw up an engine.

 

[PR24]

Or any other aircraft parts.....

 

[Fishslayer]

Yea a cow moose could defiantly screw up an engine.

I've heard the skeeters & deer flies up there can do it, too...