The 20th Fighter Wing at South Carolina’s Shaw Air Force Base has a new commander, who is overseeing the establishment of new procedures in the wake of an F-16 crash near Charleston. The accident investigation cited lackluster maintenance as a key factor in the crash. Speaking at a media roundtable in South Carolina on Nov. 7, Col. Bill Hyatt said that the wing had implemented changes even before receiving the final investigation report. The Item (Sumter, S.C.) quoted Hyatt as saying the fact that maintainers did not have “complete control of parts and pieces” as they disassembled and reassembled engines “bit us.” Hyatt added that while technical procedures were not followed, “they also weren’t easy to follow.”
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
