USAF completed its safest year on record in Fiscal 2006, Maj. Gen. Stanley Gorenc, chief of safety, said in a statement Tuesday. Numbers tell the story: 19 major aviation mishaps compared to 32 in 2005; eight destroyed aircraft vs. 11 in 2004 and 2005 and significantly more in prior years; and one aviation fatality vs. 14 last year. Looking at the graph here, one can see a dramatic drop in the Class A flight mishap rate. Read more about the drive “Toward Zero Mishaps” in the December issue of Air Force Magazine.
The Air Force plans to add external weapons pylons on the B-1B bomber, both to increase the number of aircraft that can test hypersonic missiles and expand the Lancer’s loadout as USAF transitions to the B-21 bomber.