ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 47567
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| Date: | Thursday 9 August 1979 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  General Dynamics F-16B-1 Fighting Falcon |
| Owner/operator: | 16th TFTSqn USAF |
| Registration: | 78-0078 |
| MSN: | 62-4 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Hill AFB, near Ogden, Utah -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Hill AFB, Utah (HIF/KHIF) |
| Hill AFB, Utah (HIF/KHIF) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
First ever write off of an F-16. The aircraft was written off in a crash while on approach to Hill AFB, Utah. The pilot at the controls was a Belgian pilot on the OT&E (Observation, Test & Evaluation) team. The pilot had refueled and forgot to close the aerial refueling door. Therefore, he could not get gas from his external tanks, which were de-pressurized for the refueling. Worse, the B-model lowered flaps when refueling to provide increased clearance between the boom and the canopy. So he couldn't get external fuel (had two big external tanks) and if he slowed down the flaps extended.
He had plenty of internal gas originally, but apparently failed to monitor the actual amount of internal fuel and suddenly the 'low fuel' light came on! His 'total' fuel was way up, but all the gas in the external tanks was unusable due to no pressurization. He had to manually select the tanks of interest, otherwise what you saw on the gauge was 'total' fuel.
The pilot tried for Hill AFB and slowed to best range speed, slow enough for the trailing flaps to come down and increasing drag/fuel consumption. The F-16 flamed out on downwind and the pilot tried for a dead-stick landing, unfortunately he couldn't make it and ejected at a low altitude. The now pilot-less plane actually made it to the runway overrun and pancaked but was a total loss
Sources:
1. http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/78/
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20170306224555/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/Aircraft_by_Type/F-16/USAF/f_16_USAF_80s.htm
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1978.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Weapons_Squadron#Cold_War
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Nov-2008 10:35 | ASN archive | Added |
| 07-Nov-2008 12:06 | harro | Updated |
| 01-Oct-2011 21:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Nov-2011 15:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 02-Sep-2013 00:18 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Nov-2013 23:09 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2021 21:22 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator] |
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