Belgian mechanic accidentally destroys an F-16 fighter

[Imran Khan]

The moment a Belgian mechanic accidentally destroys an F-16 fighter jet with cannon

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The moment an F-16 explodes Credit: Scramble Magazine

• James Rothwell

14 October 2018 • 4:57pm


A Belgian mechanic destroyed a multi-million pound fighter jet after he accidentally fired a Vulcan cannon while carrying out repairs at an air force base.

The £15m plane quickly caught fired and exploded, according to Belgian broadcaster RTL.

The mechanic was working with a colleague on two F-16s in a hangar near the control tower.

It is understood that the third jet, which they inadvertently destroyed after firing the cannon, was just out of their line of sight.

Both mechanics were injured during the incident, which occurred on Thursday at the Florennes air base, 60 miles south of Brussels.

A maintenance worker accidentally fired a 20mm Vulcan cannon from an F-16 jet he was working on at Belgium’s Florennes Air Force Base earlier this week, destroying another F-16 while damaging another aircraft nearby, according to Scramble Magazine
Boris Morenville, head of the Belgian defence trade union, said there was little doubt that the plane's...

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[Imran Khan]

Technician Accidentally Fires Vulcan Cannon And Destroys An F-16 On The Ground In Belgium

By Paul Szoldra
on October 13, 2018
T&P on Facebook
38

A maintenance worker accidentally fired a 20mm Vulcan cannon from an F-16 jet he was working on at Belgium’s Florennes Air Force Base earlier this week, destroying another F-16 while damaging another aircraft nearby, according to multiple media reports.

A worker apparently opened fire across the flight line while performing maintenance on Oct. 11, according to Avio News. The F-16 that was racked by cannon fire quickly caught fire and exploded, since it was loaded with fuel and being readied for an afternoon sortie, according to Scramble Magazine.

“You can’t help thinking of what a disaster this could have been,” Col. Didier Polome, the base commander, told a Belgian television news station.

The Belgian Air Force confirmed a fire broke out on the base during maintenance work, causing one plane to burn while causing collateral damage in a second, without mentioning cannon fire as being the cause.

Belgium’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that two technicians suffered hearing injuries and were treated on the spot, while adding that an investigation into the incident had been launched.

The Belgian Air Force did not respond to a request for comment from Task & Purpose.

Here are photos from the incident, courtesy of Scramble Magazine:

 

[I S I]

Damn poor eff sola

Allah shahadat qubool.farmae hamare quomi laraka taiyyare ki. ;(

 

[Beast]

15 million pound is cheap. Lucikly its not the newest block.

 

[Zibago]

Damn poor eff sola

Allah shahadat qubool.farmae hamare quomi laraka taiyyare ki. ;(

ہمیں دے دیتے

 

[I S I]

ہمیں دے دیتے

Hamare roohaani pilots ura lete isko bhi.

 

[Sugarcane]

Mechanic is member of elite group who have honor of destroying F-16

 

[Zibago]

Hamare roohaani pilots ura lete isko bhi.

Jamhori pilots sey ziyada tajurbakar hein ?

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

2nd damaged aircraft looks destroyed too.

 

[gambit]

Terrible news. To head of any baseless speculations...

There is something call the 'weight-on-wheels' (WOW) switch that exists in civilian and military aircrafts.

http://amumagazine.com/PDFs/Walker-Feb-Mar12.pdf

... these switches are referred to as squat switches or weight on wheels (WOW) sensors.

In modern flight controls systems, these WOW switches literally reconfigure the aircraft. They remove power from some systems and enable power to some systems.

For example, when I was on the F-111, the WOW switches make the wing spoilers all up to act as speed brake on the landing roll. Another example is pitot probe heater where the pitot probe is heated in flight but can burn itself and people on the ground, so the WOW switch remove heater power to the pitot probe.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2009/september/pilot/turbine-pilot-wow-what-a-landing

...weight on wheels switch include lighting up the pitot and windshield heaters, notorious for frying on the ground if left running too long. Thanks to the weight on wheels switch, the Falcon’s computers are smart enough to turn these systems on just before takeoff, but only if another piece of logic falls into place.

When an F-16, or any aircraft for that matter, is on jacks the WOW switches perform their roles in the chain of configuration logic.

In the above image, a Shaw F-16 is in phase maintenance and is on jacks. The wheels are clearly off the ground.

When weight is OFF wheels, the reconfiguration logic enables weapons readiness, meaning the cockpit can now make all weapons 'hot'. Not only that, all external stores pylons are also active regarding their ability to jettison loads, from bombs to fuel tanks.

In this mishap, was offending the F-16 on jacks? If it was, were certain circuit breakers pulled, such as C/Bs that remove power to the weapons system? If the offending F-16 was NOT on jacks, then somehow the F-16 must have been tricked into believing itself as weight OFF wheel. The switches could be physically removed from their positions for variety of reasons. But no matter what, certain safety protocols are available to make sure systems like weapons, radar, pitot heat, and radio are NOT enabled in the event of weight OFF wheels for maintenance.

Why was the cannon loaded? If the offending F-16 was in extensive maintenance, ALL ordnance would be off the jet and that mean the ammo drum must be empty. Of course, the Belgian Air Force could have their own maintenance protocols, but I find it difficult to believe that they would allow a weapons loaded F-16 into hangar for extensive maintenance. When I was on the F-16, the USAF would not allow.

If the offending F-16 was in maintenance for weapons related issues, then definitely the ammo drum must be emptied precisely for the potential of something like this mishap. Maybe the weapons maintenance issue involved actually activating the cannon, as in making sure the cannon actually rotate. If that is the case, then who missed the regulation that require the ammo drum emptied?

Maybe the cannon was accidentally activated? If that was the case, then how? The cannon can be activated from its circuits, not only from the cockpit.

The technical details are too scant, but the fact that the ammo drum was loaded is the first suspect in investigating procedures as in where they are violated.

 

[Imran Khan]

Mechanic is member of elite group who have honor of destroying F-16

he need new patch on his shoulder

 

[I S I]

Jamhori pilots sey ziyada tajurbakar hein ?

Nahiin. jamhoori waale to F35 ko bhi crash kar dein.
Hamari fauj ke roohani paailat to coffins bhi ura lete hain on daily basis. Ex; F-7

 

[Zibago]

Nahiin. jamhoori waale to F35 ko bhi crash kar dein.
Hamari fauj ke roohani paailat to coffins bhi ura lete hain on daily basis. Ex; F-7

Wo urana ata tha to Nigeria ko jf17 becha

 

[Zhukov]

Terrible news. To head of any baseless speculations...

There is something call the 'weight-on-wheels' (WOW) switch that exists in civilian and military aircrafts.

http://amumagazine.com/PDFs/Walker-Feb-Mar12.pdf

In modern flight controls systems, these WOW switches literally reconfigure the aircraft. They remove power from some systems and enable power to some systems.

For example, when I was on the F-111, the WOW switches make the wing spoilers all up to act as speed brake on the landing roll. Another example is pitot probe heater where the pitot probe is heated in flight but can burn itself and people on the ground, so the WOW switch remove heater power to the pitot probe.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2009/september/pilot/turbine-pilot-wow-what-a-landing

When an F-16, or any aircraft for that matter, is on jacks the WOW switches perform their roles in the chain of configuration logic.

In the above image, a Shaw F-16 is in phase maintenance and is on jacks. The wheels are clearly off the ground.

When weight is OFF wheels, the reconfiguration logic enables weapons readiness, meaning the cockpit can now make all weapons 'hot'. Not only that, all external stores pylons are also active regarding their ability to jettison loads, from bombs to fuel tanks.

In this mishap, was offending the F-16 on jacks? If it was, were certain circuit breakers pulled, such as C/Bs that remove power to the weapons system? If the offending F-16 was NOT on jacks, then somehow the F-16 must have been tricked into believing itself as weight OFF wheel. The switches could be physically removed from their positions for variety of reasons. But no matter what, certain safety protocols are available to make sure systems like weapons, radar, pitot heat, and radio are NOT enabled in the event of weight OFF wheels for maintenance.

Why was the cannon loaded? If the offending F-16 was in extensive maintenance, ALL ordnance would be off the jet and that mean the ammo drum must be empty. Of course, the Belgian Air Force could have their own maintenance protocols, but I find it difficult to believe that they would allow a weapons loaded F-16 into hangar for extensive maintenance. When I was on the F-16, the USAF would not allow.

If the offending F-16 was in maintenance for weapons related issues, then definitely the ammo drum must be emptied precisely for the potential of something like this mishap. Maybe the weapons maintenance issue involved actually activating the cannon, as in making sure the cannon actually rotate. If that is the case, then who missed the regulation that require the ammo drum emptied?

Maybe the cannon was accidentally activated? If that was the case, then how? The cannon can be activated from its circuits, not only from the cockpit.

The technical details are too scant, but the fact that the ammo drum was loaded is the first suspect in investigating procedures as in where they are violated.

And the point is?
F16 blew by itself or Belgian Maintenance staff is extremely stupid and incompetent?

So the first Ground to Ground kill of a 4th Generation fighter jet in the history of aviation?

 

[Imran Khan]

And the point is?
F16 blew by itself or Belgian Maintenance staff is extremely stupid and incompetent?

So the first Ground to Ground kill of a 4th Generation fighter jet in the history of aviation?

sometime shit happen sir . our own history has many such bad days