A T-6A Texan II trainer aircraft’s propeller not feathering in a timely manner is the primary cause of this aircraft’s forced landing during a training flight June 4 at Vance AFB, Okla., Air Force investigators have determined. Shortly after takeoff, the T-6, assigned to Vance’s 71st Flying Training Wing, experienced an uncommanded power change which led the student pilot and instructor to return to base for a precautionary emergency landing, according to the recently issued executive summary of findings from the accident investigation board. But upon approach, the propeller did not move into the commanded streamlined feathered position. This led to greater drag on the aircraft and an increased aircraft descent rate that caused the T-6 to touch down hard short of the runway. Neither pilot was injured, but the incident caused about $831,631.00 worth of damage to the aircraft’s left wing, landing gear and propeller, according to the AIB.
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…