Posted on 04/21/2017 9:56:40 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A fighter pilot was forced to eject during an attempted landing on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Celebes Sea, south of the Philippines, the US Navy has said. The pilot was recovered safely.
The F/A-18E fighter jet, which was part of Carrier Air Wing 2, was on final landing approach after conducting “routine flight operations,” US 7th Fleet Command said in a statement. The incident is under investigation.
“There are no apparent injuries at this time,” the Navy said, noting that the pilot has been evaluated by medical personnel aboard the Carl Vinson.
The carrier is the flagship of a task force that was “steaming out toward the Sea of Japan” the White House said earlier this month.
On April 15, however, the Navy posted a photograph on Flickr with a description placing the Carl Vinson in the Sunda Strait, several hundred miles south of Singapore.
The Carl Vinson battlegroup was deployed in East Asia in January. According to the US Navy, the carrier is accompanied by the missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain, and destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Michael Murphy.
Developed by McDonnell-Douglas and manufactured by Boeing, the F/A-18E Super Hornet is a single-seat, twin-engine, multirole combat jet that has been in US Navy service since 1999. Its intended replacement, the F-35C, is behind schedule and over budget.
Routine flight operations that resulted in crashing the airplane was John McCain’s specialty.
Was the pilot a “John McCain Wanna-BE”?
My first thought is “thank God the pilot is okay”, and my second thought is that he just wrecked a 100 million dollar piece of military equipment...Wonder how he’s feeling about his career just now.
Pray for him or her.
I hate to break it to Russia Today, but the F-35C is not intended to replace the F/A-18E. It is intended to replace the F/A-18C/D. If you don't know the difference, you shouldn't be writing news articles on the subject, RT.
My first thought is “thank God the pilot is okay”, and my second thought is that he just wrecked a 100 million dollar piece of military equipment...Wonder how he’s feeling about his career just now.
It shouldn’t affect his career at all.
Why do you assume it was his fault?
I don’t assume it was his fault, but my dad was a lifer Naval officer who was in aviation for the first part of his career, around the mid-70s. A bad/political/a-hole commanding officer could stir up hell for a pilot over this type of thing if he so chose, at least back in the day — my dad had a friend who crashed a trainer; the guy never flew again. Maybe things are different now.
As long as it isn't pilot error, he's good.
I see your point. I’d say with today’s situation with our Naval Aviation, there will be an investigation, and if not found negligent, the aviator will return to duty as a highly valued member of the team.
“.. my dad had a friend who crashed a trainer; the guy never flew again. Maybe things are different now”.
A F-18 is not a trainer. This pilot probably flew a trainer many hours ago.
Since the pilot is alive the accident board won't get to go to its default setting; pilot error.
Owww, beat me to it.
One of my sons flew an EA6B — (electronic warfare aircraft) — one of the most expensive carrier jets. He had a problem landing one time, because of a broken $12 bolt. But he landed safely.
Hey, that’s not my beer, it’s some kind of lever...
Things like that happen. Glad he is okay. He was a good pilot and was probably commended for landing safely under those conditions.
I was stationed with a Navy pilot who ran his Hornet out of fuel during a night training mission. His O-8 told him he’d never fly again, but an O-9 overruled him - that was over a decade ago.
Why is Juan McCain allowed to fly expensive fighter aircraft?
Does it say something that the sex of the pilot is nowhere mentioned?
Those Fly-by-Wire planes just quit flying when things go wrong. Lose power and can’t re-start it’s time to get out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.