Wednesday, March 07, 2018
List of Dept of the Navy Flight & Ground Class A Mishaps from FY 2017-Feb 2018
The most recent (FY 2017-14 Feb 2018) DoN flight Class A mishaps include:NOTE! The above is from testimony of the aviation chiefs of the Navy and Marine Corps to the House Armed Services Committee on SeaPower.
• 11 Dec 2017 (Tinker AFB, OK): E-6A struck birds during descent, leading to number 4
engine flameout.
• 04 Dec 2017 (NAS Fallon): FA-18A right leading edge flap departed aircraft in flight
and hit the vertical stabilizer.
• 22 Nov 2017: (Philippine Sea) C-2A ditched while inbound to CVN with 11 onboard.
Three fatalities.
• 11 Oct 2017: (Futenma MCAS, Japan) CH-53E engine fire in flight, emergency landing.
No injuries.
• 01 Oct 2017: (Monroe County, TN) T-45C crashed on low-level training route. Two
fatalities.
• 28 Sep 2017: (Syria) MV-22B crashed on landing during support mission.
• 12 Aug 2017: (Bahrain) F/A-18E departed runway during landing after a ship to shore
divert due to an engine malfunction. Pilot ejected. No injuries.
• 09 Aug 2017: (25 Miles South of Key West, FL) F-5N went down over water. Pilot
ejected safely.
• 05 Aug 2017: (15 nm off NE Australia IVO Shoal Water Bay) MV-22B struck LPD flight
deck on final approach and then crashed into water. Three personnel are missing and
presumed deceased. 23 recovered.
• 05 Aug 2017: (North Island NAS, CA) F/A-18F struck round down with right horizontal
stabilator upon landing. Diverted successfully.
• 16 Jul 2017: (Bay of Bengal) F/A-18F engine borescope plug backed out in flight
causing hot air to burn to engine bay and aircraft skin.
• 10 Jul 2017: (Indianola, MS) KC-130T crashed on logistics flight from Cherry Point to El
Centro. 16 fatalities.
• 27 Apr 2017: (Off the Coast of Guam) MH-60R collided with water on initial takeoff
from ship. No injuries.
• 21 Apr 2017: (Philippine Sea) F-18E lost on approach to landing on carrier. Pilot ejected
without injury prior to water impact.
• 05 Apr 2017: (Yuma, AZ) CH-53E landed hard and rolled on day training flight. Crew of
five uninjured.
• 28 Mar 2017: (El Centro NAF) HH-60H main rotor blades contacted tail rotor driveshaft
on landing.
• 17 Jan 2017: (NAS Meridian, MS) T-45 crashed following a BASH incident on takeoff.
Both crewmembers ejected. No fatalities.
25
• 12 Dec 2016: (Off the Coast of Okinawa, Japan) MV-22B attempted a precautionary
emergency landing (PEL) to dry land but crash landed in shallow water. Crew of five
evacuated with injuries.
• 07 Dec 2016: (Off the Coast of Iwakuni MCAS, Japan) F/A-18C crashed into the water
while conducting a night mission. One fatality.
• 21 Nov 2016: (Upper Mojave Desert Region) F/A-18F struck a tree while instructor pilot
was conducting a currency flight event. Returned to base safely. No injuries.
• 09 Nov 2016: (Off the Coast of San Diego) Two F/A-18As were conducting basic flight
maneuvers and had a mid-air collision. One aircraft crashed in the water. Pilot ejected
successfully. One aircraft landed with significant damage.
• 27 Oct 2016: (MCAS Beaufort, SC) F/A-35B had an inflight weapons bay fire followed
by an uneventful landing. No injuries.
• 25 Oct 2016: (Twentynine Palms, CA) F/A-18C crashed on final approach. Pilot ejected
successfully. No injuries.
• 20 Oct 2016: (Yuma, AZ) CH-53E main rotor contacted building causing damage to the
aircraft.
DoN Class A aviation ground and Flight Related mishaps (AGM and FRM):
• 17 Aug 2017: (NW of San Clemente Island) MH-60R lost SONAR transducer at sea.
(FRM)
• 11 Jul 2017: (New River MCAS, NC) Maintenance personnel struck by lightning on the
flight line while working on MV-22B. One fatality. Two others were treated and released.
(AGM)
• 25 Jun 2017: (MCAS Miramar, CA) Two Marines injured and F/A-18A damaged after
flammable material in drip pan caught fire. (AGM)
• 19 Jan 2017: (NAS Norfolk, VA) Three E-2C aircraft damaged in an engine oil related
event. (AGM)
• 18 Dec 2016: (Kadena AFB, Japan) Tow bar separation resulted in aircraft/tow collision
with damage to nose gear and lower fuselage of P-8A. (AGM)
• 15 Dec 2016: (NAS Whidbey Island, WA) Canopy on EA-18G exploded/jettisoned
resulting in severe injuries to two personnel. (AGM)
Is this an admission that the fleet was starved of money to pay for the F-35?
via IHS Janes
Key PointsYou've heard me make the accusation on a number of occasions.
*The USMC plans to use additional budget funds to both buy aircraft and modernise its fleet
*A key officer said it was previously forced to sacrifice readiness to buy aircraft
The US Marine Corps (USMC) plans to simultaneously buy aircraft and modernise its depots, which it previously was unable to do, thanks to extra money in its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget request, according to a key officer.
USMC Deputy Commandant for Aviation Lieutenant General Steven Rudder told a Senate panel on 6 March that the marines previously underfunded readiness accounts to buy new aircraft, of which, he said, it was not buying enough.
"Everything must die so that the F-35 can live".
Is this proof that I was right? That quote is telling...Marines previously underfunded readiness accounts to buy new aircraft?????
What does that mean exactly? Does it mean that proper maintenance was delayed? Is this why Marine pilots weren't getting the required number of hours?
Or should we cut to the chase and ask the 50 billion dollar question.
Is this why the Marines had so many aviation accidents and deaths? Did US Marines die so that the Marine Corps could buy new airplanes?
The Corinth Canal .... I've got to see this!
pic via USS Edsall Tumblr Page.
Wow. This is crazy. That's got to rub paint!
 |
| A little tugboat towing a cruise ship through the Corinth Canal crossing the Isthmus of Corinth of Greece. |
Wow. This is crazy. That's got to rub paint!
A Vietnamese “Tiger Scout” (as Kit Carson Scouts were called in 9th Division) during the Vietnam War.
 |
| A Vietnamese “Tiger Scout” (as Kit Carson Scouts were called in 9th Division) during the Vietnam War. Firing an M60 machinegun while an American behind him fires an M79 grenade launcher. http://wrhstol.com/2D6SScy |
Sikorsky CH-53K Completes Critical Flight Envelope Expansion with 36,000-pound External Lift
Impressive. Yeah this helicopter costs a metric ASS TON of money. Yeah I believe that despite this impressive feat we won't be able to afford as many as we would like and it would make sense to buy a MORE AFFORDABLE helicopter for less demanding heavy lift roles.
But I have to call balls and strikes. This is impressive.
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
Evolution of the Super Hornet & A Modest Proposal!
Thanks to Super Rhino for the pics!
A few things have become clear with regard to the US Navy and the Super Hornet. First remember this? via USNI News.
Defense Secretary James Mattis is ordering a Pentagon review to compare the capabilities and cost between the emerging carrier-based Lockheed Martin F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter and an upgraded version of the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, according to a memo obtained by USNI News.Story here.
The three-paragraph directive orders Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work to, “oversee a review that compares F-35C and F/A-18 E/F operational capabilities and assesses the extent that F/A-18E/F improvements (an advanced Super Hornet) can be made in order to provide a competitive, cost effective, fighter aircraft alternative.”
The memo also directs Work to look at the overall F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to find opportunities to significantly reduce cost while maintaining the requirements for the program.
The Work reviews are set to inform upcoming budget decisions, read the memo.
In a Friday statement to reporters, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said, “this is a prudent step to incorporate additional information into the budget preparation process and to inform the secretary’s recommendations to the president regarding critical military capabilities.”
The new review follows then President-elect Donald Trump’s December declaration that he wanted Boeing to price out a comparable Super Hornet to an F-35 as a cost saving measure.
To my knowledge they have NEVER released the results of the study and I have yet to hear one defense reporter even ask about it.
But we do have a clue.
Follow the money.
The US Navy is going all in on the Super Hornet Block III. They aren't calling it the Advanced Super Hornet (I believe) for the same reason why they didn't change the designation of the F-18 when they replaced the original legacy jets.
It's fiction to mollify the bean counters AND the F-35 fan club with the additional bonus of not spooking our allies that are about to buy a hangar queen.
All this leads to my modest proposal.
How about the US Navy make it simple.
The number of F-35C's bought is going to be pathetically small. So small that it doesn't make sense to setup a new training, maintenance and supply line for that fleet of aircraft.
My proposal is for the Navy to go all in on the Super Hornet AND to MAKE the USMC buy Super Hornets for the carrier mission!
But what about the gap that the F-35 was suppose to field?
Remember they aren't talking about it acting as a deep penetrating fighter for the Navy. They aren't even talking about it doing deep strike.
No.
The new hotness for the F-35C is to act as a "sensor" and to quarterback for non-stealthy jets.
The solution to that is simple.
All they have to do is to speed up development of whatever UAV they pick for the refueling mission and alot a certain number to act as the sensor (deep?) for the E-2Ds to continue to play its role as "quarterback".
It never made sense to saddle a one seat fighter with that many tasks. The Networked Fires System that the US Navy is developing will not be degraded one bit by having their new UAV acting as sensor, node and relay for strike or fleet defense.
In essence we know now that the F-35C will be horribly expensive. Time for carrier aviation to move in lock step with the Super Hornet Block III!
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