Posted on 04/22/2022 7:30:34 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
A B-1B bomber caught fire on the flight line at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, on April 20, the base announced.
The fire started around 10 p.m. during “routine engine maintenance” while the B-1 Lancer was parked, according to a Dyess press release.
Two individuals were injured during the fire and transported to a local medical facility with “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to the release. They were later released.
A Dyess Air Force Base public affairs official told Air Force Magazine that the cause of the fire and whether the aircraft can be salvaged are still being investigated. Information on the injured individuals, including whether they were members of the aircrew or maintainers, is not being released at this time.
A 39-second video posted to the popular unofficial “Air Force amn/nco/snco” Facebook page purports to show the B-1 engulfed in massive flames. An individual can be seen running to and away from the aircraft before an emergency vehicle arrives and the video ends.
The Dyess official said the base is aware of the video and is currently investigating. She could not confirm the video’s veracity.
Air Force Global Strike Command did not immediately respond to an Air Force Magazine query as to whether the B-1 fleet has been grounded in response to the incident, but in a statement, Col. Joseph Kramer, commander of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess, said, “our B-1 fleet and warfighters remain ready to execute any long-range strike mission.”
“We are so grateful that all members of Team Dyess involved have been treated and are now safely back at home,” Kramer added. “Thank you to our first responders who arrived immediately on scene and executed a real-world emergency response with the same level of professionalism and proficiency as they do in training.”
Operations at Dyess are proceeding as usual, the official told Air Force Magazine, “except for that one area of the flight line.” Clean-up operations are underway.
As of September 2021, only 45 B-1Bs were left in the Air Force fleet. Air Force Global Strike Command retired 17 B-1s last year, however, the rest of the fleet is expected to remain in service until the new B-21 Raider comes online.
You are correct to a point.
The big aircraft producers (Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop, etc) routinely have in their EMPLOYMENT, numerous RETIRED Air Force Generals specifically to kick active General’s asses.
Retired Generals, and Senior Civilians should be bared for life from ANY employment with the military industrial complex.
Can't quite tell if you were being facetious or not. In my day, the Crew Chief stood by a large extinguisher on a cart during engine starts.
There is no McDonnell-Douglas anymore. They were bought by Lockheed? years ago. Glad you didn't spell it as "McDonald-Douglas" though.
The B-One goes back to Jimmy Carter, who cancelled it, only to have Reagan, once elected, bring it back.
It’s not a spring chicken, but it is an awesome aircraft.
In Nevada, the Nevada National Guard does ALOT of maintenance-—all over the world.
I think it used to be 20 AF till they took the ballistic mission away from AFSPACE. Or they moved 20 AF to AFGSC. It’s been awhile, I could be wrong.
MD is now Boeing. RIP Boeing.
Heh
I watched a C-141 burn up on the maintenance ramp at Travis AFB in the early 90s. Once it started there was nothing that could be done but watch it burn. Luckily nobody was hurt.
More here, mentions fuel system problems and leaks:
My bet is a rupture fuel line at the engines.
The comments on this thread are all over the place except the fire. Once upon a time, I could use Free Republic as a viable reference for real facts.
I wonder if the Airman who took the video is going to get hosed for doing so.
But we have so few bombers, so few fighters and cargo. Each loss like losing 300 - 400 planes in WWII.
A BIG AMEN to your last sentence!
A BIG AMEN to your last sentence!
I think they actually built 100 but are now down to 40 odd active.
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