Air Force accident investigators have determined that a combination of landing gear malfunctions and assessment errors by the pilot led to an F-15C making a hard landing at Tyndall AFB, Fla., on Nov. 13, 2008. The mishap caused about $1.25 million in damage to the aircraft, which was assigned to the base’s 95th Fighter Squadron, and cost about $37,000 in other damages and cleanup efforts. The pilot was not injured. According to the findings of Air Education and Training Command’s accident investigation board (AIB executive summary), the F-15C took off that day to participate in a four-ship air-to-air training mission. But the aircraft’s landing gear failed to retract due to a wiring malfunction. The pilot did not follow a checklist step for how to deal with the situation, which then led to a series of subsequent miscalculations that caused him ultimately to land at a high speed and lower angle of attack than normal. When the F-15’s anti-skid brake system failed, the pilot, as a last resort, lowered the aircraft’s hook, but the aircraft still overran the runway and all paved surfaces. (Randolph report by Capt. John Severns)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.