Posted on 04/12/2014 5:47:40 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was finally in sight.
The pilot of the F/A-18 Super Hornet hurriedly flipped switches and pushed levers. The aviator in the backseat leaned forward, straining to see the flight deck floating in the distance. The jet’s right engine had locked up, its landing gear jammed, the main fuel tank almost empty.
(snip)
The pilot made some quick calculations. He had 15,500 pounds of fuel in his tanks, enough to return to the Eisenhower and make six passes at the ship.
Landing in nearby Kandahar was a more prudent option, but that would likely have meant several days or more awaiting repairs. The Eisenhower’s air wing commander had decided earlier not to put a maintenance detachment in Afghanistan — a cost-saving measure pilots perceived as a signal they should attempt to divert back to the ship whenever possible.
(snip)
About the story: This report was based on an investigation into the April 8, 2013, crash of an F/A-18 Super Hornet. Names and other identifying details were redacted from the report, which was obtained by The Virginian-Pilot through a Freedom of Information Act request. The report cited questionable decision making by the pilot but did not recommend disciplinary action.
(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...
McCain didn't lose any aircraft; he knew where they were all the time. However, he did crash a few, had an accident, and had one shot down while he was on board.
Most likely JP4.
Read the damn article!
See.......space shuttle......Challenger. Same deal.
“Running out of gas is always a pilot error.”
“I highly recommend reading the article. If nothing else, it will save you making a fool of yourself the next time. “
I’m not a pilot nor have any expertise with aviation as I was a mere M-16 operator while working for the Big Green Machine way back in the day. However, having said all this, just want to say that it’s my understanding that jet engines don’t burn gas. Just saying, lol :)
I understand the professional dings that the guy has taken (assuming that his name is not McCain), but for those that read the article, his questionable decisions were not related to fuel starvation.
I'm confused. If he was choosing between landing on a carrier, I would presume that meant he was over the ocean. Yet Kandahar is in land-locked Afghanistan, hundreds of miles from any sea. How could it be considered "nearby?"
If a maverick black hole from the Andromeda galaxy sweeps out of the mysterious dark unknown of deepest space and into our Solar System, slamming unpredictably into this pale blue dot of Earth, in the moments before everyone is annihilated, one or more commanders will most likely be asked that most standard of military questions: “What did YOU do to prevent this?”
I'd be asking some hard questions to the air wing commander about not having assets at KAH to recover his aircraft. Seems like a no brainer to me.
I worked with an older guy whose son was a Delta pilot, and had been a Naval aviator for several years prior.
He visited the office quite often, and when asked would say that - no matter how experienced the jet driver - there was always a very great "pucker factor" in carrier landings.
I don’t disagree, but the Navy doesn’t usually work that way.
AKA an "aw crap" moment.
Yeah, I know.
“How many aircraft did John McCain lose?”
Four!
....I think you are right. This is a very complex AC but the fouled refuel probe should have been recognized immediately as a danger ...
Yes, and his training would have alerted him to that, if it included this fact. If they didn’t tell him this in training, how is he supposed to know?
Why didn’t you bother to read the article?
..... You got me there, but I can tell you this every plane made has a book on every thing possible to know about that plane. Also all emergency procedures are on laminated cards and are carried by both the pilot and the Guy In Back.
So when the probe failed the G.I.B. should have been going thru those procedures to verify what now works and what does not...[it is easy to second guess them, I do realize they were under extreme stress but you're right the training should have kicked in]
“....a $50 million Super Hornet and nearly their lives because of financial shenanigans in Washington.”
See.......space shuttle......Challenger. Same deal.
Actually, No.
The primary cause of the Challenger disaster was . . . Sheer Bad Luck.
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