An inexperienced pilot’s errors and general lack of knowledge, combined with an overbearing operations supervisor, were the key factors that led to a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 crashing into the sea somewhere in the Middle East last September, according to a new accident investigation board ...
An electrical power disruption wreaked havoc on an F-16's flight and navigation instruments, and poor weather meant the pilot had no other way of gaining his bearings, resulting in a fiery crash in South Korea last year that destroyed the $29 million aircraft, according to ...
A large bird struck the canopy of a T-38 and sent debris flying into the trainer jets’ engines, forcing the pilot to eject and the aircraft to crash last November, according to a new Air Force accident investigation report. The mishap, which resulted in the complete destruction ...
A pilot incorrectly believed he had lost control of his F-16 when he ejected from it over western Louisiana this past March, resulting in the destruction of the $27 million aircraft, according to a new Accident Investigation Board report. The report also faulted the pilot and ...
A drone pilot and an instructor at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., failed to realize an RQ-4 was 4,000 feet too high as it started its final approach, leading the unmanned aerial system to overshoot the base and crash nearly seven miles away, according ...
Maintenance errors and oversights caused $2.69 million in damage to an F-22 Raptor in October 2020 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., investigators found. An Air Force Accident Investigation Board report released July 9 cited cultural issues within the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and distractions ...
An Air Force pilot’s mistake in raising landing gear too quickly during a touch-and-go landing was the main cause of a February crash of a T-38 trainer jet, according to an accident investigation report published June 29. Investigators faulted the pilot for relying on a ...
E-11A aircrew shut down the wrong engine during an in-flight emergency and were unable to restart the aircraft’s powerplants, causing the Jan. 27, 2020, crash that killed both pilots in Afghanistan, an Air Force investigation found. The crash killed Lt. Col. Paul K. Voss and ...
An F-15C pilot’s fixation on an intercept during training, and failure to focus on the aircraft’s instruments as he encountered adverse weather, caused the fatal June 15 crash in the North Sea near the United Kingdom, U.S. Air Forces in Europe announced Nov. 23. First ...
Pilot error and a series of ejection seat malfunctions led to a fatal F-16CM crash at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., in June, accident investigators said in a new report released Nov. 9. “This accident is a tragic reminder of the inherent risks of fighter ...
A leak in a cracked oil line caused an RQ-4’s engine to fail during a ferry flight to the Middle East in June 2018, and because the operations aircrews did not properly plan divert airfields en route, the Global Hawk crashed into the sea near ...
A pararescueman died during an October 2019 mountain rescue and climbing training exercise in Idaho after an anchor system failed, pulling him off the top of a cliff. Tech. Sgt. Peter Kraines, 33, a Special Tactics PJ with the 24th Special Operations Wing at Pope ...