Maintainers tending an F-16 of the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing failed to properly torque bolts connecting a fuel line to the main fuel control unit, resulting in the crash of the fighter on Jan. 19, according to an Air Combat Command release last week. The accident investigation board found that the single-engine aircraft suffered a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff and failed to restart during several attempts by the pilot, who then ejected, suffering only minor injuries.
The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.
