PG_Raptor 0 Posted May 3, 2005 It happened this afternoon, in the nothern Israeli airforce base of "ramat David". On touch down the front landing gear of the F16 collapsed, and the plane fell on its nose. 0/10 of a second , before the plane lost control and flipped on its back, the two pilots managed to eject. (the plane was at roll angle of 45 degrees when they ejected). Navigator suffer only of minor injuries. and they are already schedueled for another flight tomorow morning. Combination of luck, good reflexes, and maybe help from above. who know? Lucky pilots! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dagger 21 Posted May 3, 2005 this would be a 9.5 on Daggers pucker factor scale! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Fates 63 Posted May 3, 2005 WIth the exception of post accident fire, I would have taken my chances staying in the cockpit, but I see two chutes which makes me wonder.... Do the pilots have individual ejection ability, or if one goes...does the other go? I wouldn't want to stay in the cockpit without the canopy in tack, or the support beam between the seats. Fates Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TROOPER117 146 Posted May 3, 2005 Jesus!! My arse is twitching just looking at it! Scary stuff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted May 4, 2005 I would think that, being a trainer aircraft, it would be good if one pulled, then both go. That way, if the trainer deems that it is no longer safe in the aircraft, that the student isn't left there by himself. But I know nothing about this kind of stuff, it just seems to make sense that way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ST0RM 145 Posted May 4, 2005 I would think that, being a trainer aircraft, it would be good if one pulled, then both go. That way, if the trainer deems that it is no longer safe in the aircraft, that the student isn't left there by himself. But I know nothing about this kind of stuff, it just seems to make sense that way. The F-16B/Ds are not only trainers. They are fully combat capable aircraft. As for ejections, you can go command ejection from the front seat to punch out both. In this case the rear seat goes out first. The second sequence is individual where only the rear seat can punch himself out, but not the front. However, if the front seat elects to go, then both seats will go to avoid burning anyone in the back. If the rear seat is empty, you can pin the back seat to not have it fire. Storm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,318 Posted May 4, 2005 Beat me too it Jeff. You have to forgive PG, he is young and does not know the ways of the force yet.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weasel Keeper 0 Posted May 5, 2005 (edited) Fates, I'm almost with you. Not knowing the outcome of the accident or more details from their debrief, if my nose gear collapsed I probably would have ridden it out. I've personally seen two "no NLG" landings with F-4s and the aircrew walked (well ran...) away. However, at a 45 degree roll upon touchdown, pull the pretty handle! The cool thing about modern ejection seats is you can punch out at bad angles (and even on the ground) and the seat will right itself, giving you plenty of altitude with the rockets to deploy the chute and sit down safely. They're nothing like (going back to the mighty F-4) the old Martin Bakers that fire you out in whatever straight line you were angled or just enough rocket juice to clear the acft. Glad the crew made it out okay! *edit* One thing got me wondering...the aircrew were already scheduled to fly the next day after the accident??? Edited May 5, 2005 by Weasel Keeper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PG_Raptor 0 Posted May 5, 2005 Yeah, I certainly can't confirm the validity of the description (sounded fishy to me too). But I thought you guys might like the pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Old Ranger 0 Posted May 17, 2005 I bet they had to shake the spuds out of their speedos after that one!! Part of emergancy procedure training is to work yourself out a plan for just about anything that can go wrong. You look at an incident or accident report and think it through: "What would I do?" - file that tidbit of knowledge away and hope you never have to use it. Better to figure it out in the flight room over a nice hot cup of coffee than when things are going to sh** in a big hurry! Like the book says: Learn Today to Live Tommorow. If this played out as described, these guys were in a sled going 100Kts plus with zero control, going off the road - and it was starting to roll over. Seems like taking the "ACES II Exit" was a real smart move. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
