F-16 down at March ARB

a reply to: Zaphod58

Sometimes that is a difficult task.

The ordinance was removed to a nearby safety area and destroyed. They still have to deal with the hydrazine, fuel, and hydraulic fluid. At least they don't use skydrol anymore.

Looks like the roof cushioned the fall a bit.Why does it remind me of Cpt Marvel falling through the the Blockbuster store roof.

I suspect, based on the lack of fire or explosion, that it's going to come out that the pilot knew he was going down and cut off the fuel to the engine, shutting down the engine prior to ejecting.

Fun with Hydrazine.

Video of pilot ejecting

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Saw that last night and laughed at the comments. First comment and reply:

"What was the reason for the ejection?"

"The pilot didn't want to die."

from the looks of it the airplane had a better chance making it to runway without the pilot
so ejecting was the right call
obviously

a reply to: mightmight
Hahahaha just thought the same thing....

A flight control system overhaul resulted in two ISA check valves being installed improperly. The pilot noticed a drop in hydraulic pressure in the A system, and began burning off fuel while returning to the base. When he lowered the landing gear, the B system pressure dropped. He was lined up for the runway at the time, and under control. Shortly before reaching the field, the aircraft rolled left. The pilot attempted to counter, with right stick input, and the aircraft rolled hard right, at which point he ejected.

www.pe.com...

It was avoidable on landing to lose the jet. Lucky nobody on the ground got killed. Shouldn’t have gone down that way.