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F-111 fleet grounded after wheel incident
Herald Sun ^ | 18 July 2006

Posted on 07/18/2006 3:14:58 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher

THE fleet of 26 F-111 aircraft has been temporarily grounded following an emergency landing by one of the RAAF fighters in Queensland today.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said the grounding was necessary to ensure there was nothing structurally wrong with the planes.

Air Marshall Geoff Shepherd said the left-wing wheel of the fighter fell off shortly after take off, an event that had never occurred in the 30-year flying history of the planes.

Dr Nelson paid tribute to the pilot, support crew and civilian emergency personnel for the way they handled the incident, which occurred at RAAF Amberley air base near Brisbane at about 2.10pm (AEST).

He said that in light of the incident, it was prudent to temporarily ground the aircraft.

"I understand the chief of Air Force will be ensuring our F-111 fleet is properly examined to ensure that all of them are safe to continue flying," he said.

"In the meantime they will be temporarily grounded for reasons that most Australians would understand and respect."

Air Marshal Shepherd said the pilot of the fighter was one of the most junior with the F-111s, having graduated from the basic conversion course a fortnight ago.

He was doing an operational upgrade, and flying with one of the nation's most experienced F-111 navigators.

"The fact that he was able to bring the aircraft down in such a very good way, I think bears well the training that we do," he said.

Air Marshal Shepherd said the aircraft had suffered only superficial damage in the accident.

"The aeroplane has some superficial damage, we believe that there's nothing structurally damaged so far in the aeroplane that would cause it not to be repairable," he said.

"The rapid assessment we've done shows that there's nothing of an airworthiness nature that would cause us to doubt the longevity of the F-111 capability."

Air Marshal Shepherd said there were still no clues as to why the aircraft's wheel fell off.

"On takeoff ... what happened was when he retracted the undercarriage ... the left main wheel fell off," he said.

"That's an occasion without precedence in 34 years of flying the F-111 in the RAAF."

Air Marshal Shepherd said the F-111 simulator at Amberley was used to determine the best way to land the aircraft, which flew for about three hours to burn off fuel. As the jet landed, its hook was deployed, enabling it to pick up a cable that helped bring it to a halt.

Dr Nelson said the F-111 fleet would not be back in the air until it was clear they were safe to fly.

But he said the incident did not change the Government's longer term plans for the F-111 and its replacement.

"This is an outstanding aircraft, it has served Australia very well for more than 30 years. It's got another six years of great flying time in front of it, and of course we're on track to replace it with the Joint Strike Fighter," Dr Nelson said.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: australia; f111; raaf; wheelfelloff
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SHIITE!!!

I do hope our American friends remain ready to give us a hand if Oz is attacked over the next few days...

1 posted on 07/18/2006 3:15:03 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
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To: Aussie Dasher

F-111's are supposed to be in the boneyard... :\


2 posted on 07/18/2006 3:21:39 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Aussie Dasher

Wow, I didn't know anyone was still flying F-111s.


3 posted on 07/18/2006 3:23:52 AM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: Aussie Dasher

I wouldnt worry too much about that. I am sure America will be there for Australia. In the meantime it sounds like a maintenance problem to me. If I drove my 34 year old Buick out and the wheel fell off I would assume the wheel was fine when it was factory fresh 34 years ago


4 posted on 07/18/2006 3:24:22 AM PDT by sgtbono2002 (The fourth estate is a fifth column.)
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To: Aussie Dasher

OK, who forgot to tighten the lug nuts?


5 posted on 07/18/2006 3:46:59 AM PDT by libertylover (If it's good and decent, you can be sure the Democrat Party leaders are against it.)
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To: Aussie Dasher

Fair dinkum, Mite!


6 posted on 07/18/2006 3:58:34 AM PDT by Publius6961 (Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)
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To: Echo Talon

7 posted on 07/18/2006 4:02:58 AM PDT by Tank-FL (Keep the Faith - Congratulations - Albert - your Old Corps Now!- Go VMI)
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To: Tank-FL

nice aircraft, just OLD technology. :)


8 posted on 07/18/2006 4:06:03 AM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Aussie Dasher

What's the f for in a lot of planes (F-111, F-16, F-18, etc.), fighter?


9 posted on 07/18/2006 4:08:08 AM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( http://www.answersingenesis.org)
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu

On the off chance that you're series, yes F for fighter.


10 posted on 07/18/2006 4:15:48 AM PDT by ASA Vet (3.03)
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To: ASA Vet

In the case of the F-111, the 'F' might stand for something else...


11 posted on 07/18/2006 4:19:40 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher (The Great Ronald Reagan & John Paul II - Heaven's Dream Team!)
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To: Aussie Dasher
The F-111 is #2 on my list of favorite bas-ass-looking planes...

I don't care what anyone says, or what its record was, the #1 bad-ass-looking plane is the F-4 Phantom...it just looks like it's ready to kill something...
12 posted on 07/18/2006 4:26:50 AM PDT by baltodog (R.I.P. Balto: 2001(?) - 2005)
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To: Aussie Dasher

well, they are alot prettier than the f-4's, but give me a phantom anyday........


13 posted on 07/18/2006 4:27:40 AM PDT by joe fonebone (Time to bring back tar and feathering.)
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To: Aussie Dasher
The F-111 was a fine aircraft once the little weld problem was resolved back in the 60's.
Kadaffy of Libya sure got the message which was delivered via F-111.

Like many USAF aircraft they were given the label F to impress Congress into more funding.
The F-111 would be more properly thought of as a light bomber.
It was designed to deliver nukes to the USSR while flying barely above tree top level.

14 posted on 07/18/2006 4:33:42 AM PDT by ASA Vet (3.03)
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu

The F-111 was originally (believe it or not) developed as a fighter-interceptor and ended up evolving into an attack aircraft and electronic warfare platform (EF-111 Raven). It was one of the last of the "Century Series" to be developed before the DoD changed the numbering system in the early 1960s and we started over again, ending up with the F-4, F-5, F-15, etc.

Basically, "F" is fighter, "B" is bomber, "A" is attack, "C" is cargo, "K" is tanker, "H" is helicopter. There's other letter prefixes that add up to a dizzying array of combinations.

}:-)4


15 posted on 07/18/2006 4:34:00 AM PDT by Moose4 (Dirka dirka Mohammed jihad.)
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To: baltodog

I'd have to agree that the Phantom was one sweet-looking deathmachine, but for bad-ass-looking aerial death dealers, the B-1 is tops in my book.


16 posted on 07/18/2006 4:45:39 AM PDT by ABG(anybody but Gore) ("By the time I'm finished with you, you're gonna wish you felt this good again" - Jack Bauer)
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To: Moose4

Well, of late, the "F" designation has been "improperly" used to attract the best pilots, who are loath to fly attack/bombers. e.g. the F-17


17 posted on 07/18/2006 4:58:11 AM PDT by Publius6961 (Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu
What's the f for in a lot of planes (F-111, F-16, F-18, etc.), fighter?

On the off chance that you're series, yes F for fighter.

But it wasn't always so: Before 1947, fighters were "P" (for 'Pursuit') and "F" meant photoreconnaisonce, viz:

Republic F-12.

18 posted on 07/18/2006 4:58:32 AM PDT by Grut
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To: Tank-FL

Variable Geometry like the Tomcat?


19 posted on 07/18/2006 5:00:10 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (A Conservative will die for individual freedom. A Liberal will kill you for the good of society.)
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To: ABG(anybody but Gore)

I was at an air show here in Kansas, when McConnell was home to a B1-B squadron.

The B1's all had the traditional bomber names painted on the noses, such as "Miss Lucy" or "Sabrina".

But my favorite was named "Peace through Urban Renewal"!!!


20 posted on 07/18/2006 5:17:13 AM PDT by baltodog (R.I.P. Balto: 2001(?) - 2005)
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