Posted on 07/25/2024 10:47:22 PM PDT by Ben Dover
A B-1B Lancer valued at more than $450 million that crashed in South Dakota at the start of this year missed the runway by 100 feet, a mistake accident investigators attributed to the aircrew's shortcomings as well as the poor training culture within units at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
The scathing crash investigation report shared with Military.com pointed to "failure to perform standard crew resource management," along with adverse weather conditions, ineffective flying operations supervision, lack of awareness, and "an unhealthy organizational culture that permitted degradation of airmanship skills" as contributing factors in the Jan. 4 crash.
(Snip)
The report also points out that one crew member who was injured during the ejection was not wearing all the proper flight equipment. And the other injured crew member's weight was reportedly above both the ejection seat's recommended limit of 211 pounds and the Air Force's recommendation of 245 pounds. They weighed in at nearly 260 pounds during medical treatment, which "likely contributed to the severity of the injuries noted from the mishap."
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
“If we ever need to go to full-scale war with a major power (think China)... with a military like this... we’re f’ed.”
We won’t be using the B1B. The Lancer is not nuclear capable and is being replaced by the B21 Raider, a stealth nuclear bomber at Elsworth. They were stripped of nuclear in 1992 when SAC was morphed. There are only about 80 Lancers left and I get the feeling they will be changing their mission. And with 3 bays and shorter field capacity, and great manuverability, they may be pulled from direct combat altogether since SAC is gone.
wy69
Before getting to the comments section I knew the first replies would be “DEI”, and rightfully so.
The Biden administration has done more to wreck our armed forces than all the other democrat presidents combined. It will be one tremendous job to reverse all of this.
In one reply pronouns were mentioned. This is a little off topic, but I get emails where veterans need transportation to VA med facilities. The email is signed off by a VA employee giving its pronouns. This freak has no idea that’s a major turnoff for many people and with that said the veteran in need of transportation probably won’t get it from a fellow vet that served with pride.
There was also a NOTAM in effect that increased the visibility from 1/2 mile to 3/4 mile. Visibility was less than 3/4 when they started the approach.
Re: 3 - except you don’t know that. At all.
Good grief, DEI is apparently good cover for ignorance regarding this specific issue.
Nuclear is so last generation. Thermobaric bombs are the "in" thing.
That was during 'Nam.
“Good grief, DEI is apparently good cover for ignorance regarding this specific issue.”
I’m so tired of hearing it. DEI, DEI, DEI! Squawk!
For all the DEI footstompers, try reading the Accident Investigation Board Report:
https://www.afjag.af.mil/Portals/77/4JAN24%20AFGSC%20Ellsworth%20AFB%20AIB%20Report_pdf.pdf
It looks like 2-3 read the report.
Not all ills are due to DEI. Sometimes aircrew members and unit commanders are not as good as they should be. That’s been going on WAY before DEI. Case in point - the 1994 B-52 Class A mishap at Fairchild AFB due a crazy aircrew commander and a climate in that squadron and bomb wing that allowed it to continue.
Re: 47 - seems it’s often used by the ignorant in lieu of doing a deeper dive into the issue at hand.
Back in 2007 or so while visiting Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs I noticed hundreds of chubby airmen in shorts and t-shirt walking and jogging. Don’t know if they were doing the annual walk or a fat farm exercise, but I noticed they were chubby. Many were well beyond weight standards. This sort of thing has been going on for years.
[...I had trouble keeping, let alone getting out of, the 140s...]
Me too. But I was picked every single month for the “random” weight check for the fat boys club. The other two of the three chosen were stripping down to their boxers. I didn’t even take off my boots and once as a joke, weighed in with my tool belt still on. I guess I saved a lot of guys and kept the squadron statistics down.
I was going to say, “Was this person 7 feet tall?”
I dont think that is a healthy officer’s weight on any physical table anywhere.
How does a 260 pound person even handle the morning run and PT?
I’m sort of joking because I don’t know if the Air Force even bothers with such a start of the day healthy routine.
Whoever write this report may find themselves in a lot of trouble. The DEI crowd aren’t very forgiving and suffer from mental illness....now their enemy.
260-pounds is more than the GBU-39 (SBD).
“””””This incompetence seems to be everywhere.”””””
Because affirmative action/DEI ruins the organization, the institutions, the culture, and the nation, and the lack of standards becomes normal for everyone growing up in that modern American world and the people who grew up in it become the leaders and the cycle becomes simply the normal standard which means there are no firm standards anywhere.
We have been at this for 60 years it is who we are now, a people who by law and social pressure insist that we be second rate, to focus on excellence is against the law and most people would recoil at the effort to return to it if they saw it started in practice, which is how we have kept doing it for 60 years so far.
Take a 190 lb man, add the flight helmet O 2 mask, g-suit, emergency gear , and parachute, then 260 lbs is about right.
The problem is lack of training time , due to fiscal constraints.
I have always thought that ALL employees of the VA should be vets. Case by case exceptions for specialist doctors if no qualified vets can be found.
There’s no way that member should have been flying. That’s entirely too much weight, unless, they were 6’5” or taller.
Sounds like DEI to me.
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