Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

Post by Stratofreighter »

Some sort of update not seen here yet:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_ar ... 015_546670
Thursday Jan 29, 2015 (20:46)

French air chief General Denis Mercier said on Thursday the fault occurred as the aircraft, piloted by two Greeks, was taking off.

“What we know is that the F-16 crew, fairly quickly, right after the takeoff, tried to eject,” he said.

This is confirmed by the Hellenic Air Force, which has sent a team to the Los Llanos base to report on the causes of the crash.

“It was completely bad luck,” said Mercier.

“A few more meters and it would have been a different outcome.”
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/02/02/ine ... 44019.html
2 FEB 2015 - 12:18 CET

A controls failure was behind the crash of a Greek F-16 fighter jet that killed 11 and injured 20 at a Spanish airbase last Monday,
according to first investigations.

An engine failure alone could not have been enough to cause the tragedy at Los Llanos base in Albacete,
which operates as a NATO training center to improve joint air operations.

Sources familiar with the investigation said that even if the aircraft’s single engine malfunctioned on takeoff,
the F-16 should have normally continued in a straight line and the pilots would have been able to control where their plane crashed.

Instead, the fighter jet veered 45-degrees right
and headed straight for the hangar where Italian and French aircraft loaded with fuel were waiting to take part in a routine training exercise.

As well as those planes’ pilots, ground personnel were also in the area.

The F-16 barely rose a few meters off the ground and never pulled up its landing gear.

Both Greek pilots on board ejected before crashing,
but because by then the aircraft had tipped sideways,
they were sent straight against the ground.

Their bodies were found outside the hangar.

The nine other casualties were French military personnel.

While the F-16’s black boxes are analyzed,
investigators have already determined that the airplane did not hit the parked jets directly, but instead struck the ground a few meters away,
burst into flames,
and skidded into the area where two Italian AMX jets and two French Alfa Jets and one Mirage were on standby.

The F-16 was the fourth aircraft to take off as part of a training exercise involving nearly 30 planes from seven NATO member states.
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

Post by Flyingdutchman »

Pff reading those details make it even more tragic. They did eject but rocketed against the ground.
Not speculating but íf indeed it was a controls failure could this lead to grounding F-16's until the exact cause is found?
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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Greece did ground its Block 50s
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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Last summer USAF grounded about 80 F-16D due to some cracks.

http://www.airforce-technology.com/news ... ks-4368397

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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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fotrox wrote:Last summer USAF grounded about 80 F-16D due to some cracks.

http://www.airforce-technology.com/news ... ks-4368397

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Yep, but those longeron cracks near the canopy sill will very likely have nothing to do with a sudden loss of control only feet above the runway just after take-off.
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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An eye-witness report by a French non-commissioned officer (armament/ordnance) who had to shield his eyes from the initial fireball...

http://www.lopinion.fr/blog/secret-defe ... ssus-21151
/
https://translate.google.com/translate? ... edit-text=
Publié le lundi 09 février à 16h07
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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http://www.eldiario.es/clm/autoridades- ... 65439.html
/
https://translate.google.com/translate? ... edit-text=
gives some sort of indication of the confusion concerning the wounded on that particular day.
14/02/2015 - 08:02h
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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http://www.latribunadealbacete.es/notic ... elos/abril
/
https://translate.google.com/translate? ... edit-text=
Wednesday, February 25, 2015

One month will be met on Thursday the plane crash that took the lives of 11 soldiers, two Greek and nine French, and left scores injured during one of the exercises TLP flight, the pilot school known installed Air Base Los Llanos five years.

There is still no official response to what happened on takeoff F-16 Greek who went crashing to the platform where other aircraft and support staff expected to start takeoffs, but the training activities of the TLP is back this week with a theoretical course for 15 days following 26 soldiers from six countries.

This was explained TLP chief Col. Candido Antonio Bernal,
who added that the accident has forced change the course schedule and
no flight maneuvers in April,
when he planned the second course of the year.
The TLP has to do work on the runway and hangar after damage caused by the accident.

Bernal said that "the damage coming from the high temperatures experienced asphalt area;
many stones they went, that is being cleaned, and you have to finish packing residues that are not relevant to the investigation but have to pick and each country must take what yours'.

The chief Colonel TLP indicated that some of the affected aircraft still in Albacete:
"Others have disassembled, have gotten into containers and are returning to their home countries by land."

With these works on the track to do, the TLP participants want to reposition aircraft during April for two years following flight, expected to begin after the summer in September and November.

The chief Colonel TLP said the assessment of damage has been done to make this change,
but otherwise, involving the air forces of countries TLP in international conflicts also have affected the course:

"The actual operation takes precedence over everything and when countries arises at the cost of losing slots (shares), first things first and they have to go. "

Bernal recalled that in autumn last year were participants aircraft had to leave mid-year to go to the war zone with the Islamic State, and now
"countries who had agreed to come to our vain courses lose slots because they are operations still being carried out. "

Cándido Antonio Bernal commented that gradually staff pilot school routine returns after more complicated history month "Tried to go back to normal as soon as possible, without forgetting all what has happened,
but we have to resume activity ".

The chief Colonel also alluded to the latest information arrived from France regarding the evolution of the wounded.

The Italian Marshal entered Madrid continues its recovery and now consider taking it back to Italy.

Regarding the five French wounded brought to Paris, the chief Colonel said three of them were still in induced coma 'as they evolve. "

Of the two wounded who were not admitted first to Madrid "one is already in physiotherapy, had two fractured ankles" and the other is still recovering,
"He lost an arm, and has burns," said Bernal.
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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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Re: Greek F-16 crash at Albacete

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Diagrams and "on-scene photography" of numerous wrecks, including the two-seater Greek F-16, the AMX, the Mirage 2000, the Alpha Jet, etc. in this appendix:
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/content/down ... AMAGES.pdf
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