Airmen of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, N.D., recently completed—despite severely cold weather—a 48-hour exercise dubbed Prairie Knight to prepare for an operational readiness inspection slated for this summer. “Even in extreme weather, our challenging flight activity plan of 24 sorties in 48 hours got off to a great start,” said Col. Julian Tolbert, 5th BW vice commander, after the first night. The exercise takes two to three months to plan, according to Lt. Col. Rolando Diaz, 5th BW chief of plans, who explained, “The further lead time the better in ensuring the levels of injects and details—to make it more realistic.” (Minot report)
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…