Air Force accident investigators have determined that a combination of landing gear malfunctions and assessment errors by the pilot led to an F-15C making a hard landing at Tyndall AFB, Fla., on Nov. 13, 2008. The mishap caused about $1.25 million in damage to the aircraft, which was assigned to the base’s 95th Fighter Squadron, and cost about $37,000 in other damages and cleanup efforts. The pilot was not injured. According to the findings of Air Education and Training Command’s accident investigation board (AIB executive summary), the F-15C took off that day to participate in a four-ship air-to-air training mission. But the aircraft’s landing gear failed to retract due to a wiring malfunction. The pilot did not follow a checklist step for how to deal with the situation, which then led to a series of subsequent miscalculations that caused him ultimately to land at a high speed and lower angle of attack than normal. When the F-15’s anti-skid brake system failed, the pilot, as a last resort, lowered the aircraft’s hook, but the aircraft still overran the runway and all paved surfaces. (Randolph report by Capt. John Severns)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
