Devildoc
Verified Military
Airlines, airplanes and other kerfuffles
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As a guy who supports Navy flight sims, I don't think people understand how valuable those are to the fleet. Our two flight trainers are in use 5 days a week from 0700-0200 the next day. The number of trainers in use across the Navy is staggering. They are relying on them enough the T-45 replacement might not be carrier-capable with aviators taking their first looks at the boat while at an FRS or even the fleet. Some NFOs are being certified up to flight-specific tasks on sims. It's wild.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find a commander who doesn't want more sims for the aircrew. The amount of money flight sims are saving the Navy must be astronomical.
Devildoc
Verified Military
People act like this is routine, it's not.
Looks like the pilot punched out just off the departure end of the runway, or was very close to landing. Maybe a mile from the threshold.
I'll go with engine failure, or total loss of electronics as a first guess.
Devildoc
Verified Military
The Navy is down another F-18. Pilot recovered and is safe.
Navy pilot rescued after ejecting from Super Hornet off Virginia coast
How does the Navy budget for potential losses? Does it?
Navy pilot rescued after ejecting from Super Hornet off Virginia coast
How does the Navy budget for potential losses? Does it?
Yes and no.
The Service Safety Office's project how many of each type may crash during a FY. Additional aircraft may be bought at the end of a production run if the type hasn't been replaced. F-18's are being phased out, so one less flight to the bone yard.
I don't know if the AF does this, but the Navy will easily move a plane between squadrons 5-6 times in its lifespan. Some of that I understand because depot stuff becomes a one-for-one exchange. Plus, each F-35 squadron coming online will free up 12-18 a/c for replacements.
The production run is now scheduled to end in 2027 but that was revised to the right within a year or so of stating 2025. Those planes will fly beyond 2035. I don't think the Navy has met the first or even second sunset date for any of its platforms in the last 50 years.
Like all of the services, getting aircrews is the problem.
ETA: 2035 and 3035 aren't the same thing...
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I saw that too. Unless it mechanicaled somehow, he really screwed the pooch. I don't have to be a pilot to know you retard the throttle in a dive like that, much less the 'burner.
Topkick
Verified Military
Kraut783
SOF Support
Damn….blue skies…
Blue skies and tailwinds.
RIP.
Devildoc
Verified Military
"Gnarly" is the word I used when I saw the first videos of the crash. I was wondering why they couldn't keep it airborne with just one out; current RUMINT (and that's all it is) has it that FOD from the departed engine (#1) taking out the high engine (#2). That makes a lot of sense, given how things wound up.
But, as before, it's always better to wait for the report.
Can a fully loaded MD-11 climb out on one engine?
All sorts of photo and video stuff coming out today. In a sense the proliferation of Ring cams, dash cams, phones, etc. must be a gold mine for investigators.
Blizzard
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No.
It can lose an engine, although not a catastrophic separation with structural damage, and still take off/climb. In theory, the engine could even separate cleanly and the airplane would still have enough performance to climb and return to the airport.
Without getting too far down the path of speculation, it does appear the UPS jet also encountered an issue/compressor stall in it's #2 engine (the tail engine) as well. So, only #3 (right wing) was likely operating at any real capacity.
This incident is similar to a well documented crash of AA FL191 at O'Hare back in '79. That aircraft was a DC-10, a predecessor to the MD-11, which also had a catastrophic engine separation.
The double whammy in both cases is that the incident occurred at an altitude that didn't allow the pilots much of an opportunity to react, even in the best case scenario. Pretty tough hand to be dealt.
Investigators will surely take a hard look at the engines fuse pins, along with everything else.
Most airliners--most current multi-engine aircraft--are designed to continue a takeoff after losing an engine after V1 (briefly defined as the decision point to continue or terminate a takeoff) speed. Too heavy and too fast with not enough runway left to stop when the second engine stalled. Given the timeline, I don't think there was anything else the crew could have really done.
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