Here's a 30mm round from the A-10. The 20mm ain't that big but still ain't bad.
Posted on 12/18/2004 7:56:39 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Saturday, December 18, 2004 - The Air Force says pilot error and a poorly designed aircraft interface caused the F-16 pilot to accidentally fire rounds into a New Jersey elementary school.
A report from the Accident Investigations Board calls the firing of the aircraft's gun an "unfortunate and unintentional mistake" and says the pilot never intended for it to happen.
The pilot, identified as Maj. Roberto Balzano, of the 113th Wing based at Andrews Air Force Base, accidentally fired 27 rounds at Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School during a nightly training exercise last month. There were no injuries but the 2-inch rounds punched holes in the school's roof and ceiling tiles, tore the carpet and made indentations in the asphalt parking lot.
The report says the pilot was trying to verify his position in relation to a target on the range, which is done by pulling a trigger to emit a laser marker. However, the F-16 flight control stick has a two-detent trigger. If the pilot squeezes the trigger on the first detent the aircraft indeed emits a laser. However, if the pilot fully squeezes the trigger while the aircraft is in master arm and the gun mode is selected, as was the case here, the gun will discharge.
Although the targetting pod underneath the F-16 is capable of rotating its seeker head to pointing at the target independent of the aircraft's flight path, the gun can only fire directly ahead of it. At the time the trigger was pulled, the F-16 was notheaded towards the intended strafing target.
The report also disclosed that there have been three other incidents this year in which an F-16 pilot unintentionally fired during nighttime strafing missions. It did not say where and when the other incidents occurred, but the report noted that, like the New Jersey case, no one was hurt.
The report concluded the Nov. 3 New Jersey incident an "unfortunate and unintentional mistake." It said the pilot never intended to strafe the Little Egg Harbor Township Intermediate School and suggested computer software changes to the aircraft control systems to prevent another incident.
Major Balzano has more than 2,000 hours of experience flying planes, 975 hours of which were in the F-16s.
He was on a nighttime training sortie conducting basic surface attacks at the range. A briefing session was held before the mission and Balzano was cautioned not to use his laser marker with the air-to-ground gun mode selected and the gun armed, the report said.
Balzano immediately realized his error when the aircraft gun's discharged. He told the control tower something had gone wrong, scrapped his mission and returned to Andrews AFB.
The range reopened Thursday. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., had called for the range to be closed until the investigation was completed, and officials shut it down.
Ping
Air National Guard F-16 accident report released
12/17/2004 - ARLINGTON, VA. (AFPN) -- Pilot error, a poorly designed pilot-vehicle interface, and the lack of a published safety procedure were found as causes for 27 ammunition rounds being accidentally expended during a training mission at the Warren Grove Range, N.J., Nov. 3 according to an accident report released Dec. 17. Some of the rounds struck a Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J school four miles south of the range. No one was injured in the incident.
Air National Guard officials said that as a result, specific changes in range procedures and aircraft software will be implemented to avoid any further incidents. Additionally, aircraft at the range will be restricted as to when they can arm weapons, and flight plans will be altered to point weapons toward unpopulated areas.
A town hall meeting was held in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J. Dec. 17 to discuss the report with the public.
The F-16 was from the District of Columbia Air National Guard’s 113th Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
Link here: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123009441
It is a 20mm cannon, which equals 0.787 inches. It's still a large round, but it isn't 2". A 2" round is 50mm. The F-16 definitely doesn't carry that, and the 30mm rounds from the A-10 get the job done!
They're calling it pilot error, but it sounds to me like the pilot was doing his best with what he had. I welcome a more professional opinion, though.
That's about right, . The way a round is measured is land-to-land or the diameter at the base.
You know with what schools are teaching these days, maybe it wasn't such a bad target after all. There were definitely communists using the facilities trying to subvert American society.
Here's a 30mm round from the A-10. The 20mm ain't that big but still ain't bad.
I don't think f-16's should be flying over civilian areas when their guns are armed (capable of firing).
Pulling the trigger with Master Arm on doesn't seem inherently safe to me. It's kinda like putting your finger on the trigger of your rifle while it's locked and loaded at your house. There's a better way to do things.
Only the F-16? You can relax. The M61 gun system has been around for over 40 years, and this is the only inadvertent firing of it that I have ever heard. The M-61 is carried by the F-4Es, F-15s, F-18s, F-14s and the new F-22 Raptors.
The M-61 is a safe system. You won't hear about another M-61 gun system inadvertent firing in your life time.
From the article: The report also disclosed that there have been three other incidents this year in which an F-16 pilot unintentionally fired during nighttime strafing missions.
Any idea what firing systems the report is referring to?
I think here they're going by the length of the round.
Probably to hype it up all the more.
That definitely makes sense to me.
I would like to believe the pilot had the right equipment and the right training. In wartime it probably would not be too difficult to accept a few rounds fired into the ground away from any target, but in peacetime it should be on a range. This wasn't on the range, so some error exists. My understanding of the nav systems on these planes is that they always know where they are, that they have GPS and inertial nav so if the pilot armed his weapons off the range, then he knew he was doing so. (Now maybe we will learn that his nav systems were wrong, but the article does not say so.)
As far as the gun having a lasing position and a firing position, the pilot should be able to "feel" and distinguish between the two. Perhaps the switch detent was faulty, and this was why the mission was aborted.
The Navy has a range in South Texas, and there is nothing but empty Mesquite around the range, Maybe this range is too small and needs to be redesigned?
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