Incident General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon 78-0048,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 46943
 
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Date:Friday 15 January 1982
Time:
Type:Silhouette image of generic F16 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon
Owner/operator:421st TFSqn /388th TFWg USAF
Registration: 78-0048
MSN: 61-44
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:near Sunrise Mountain, east of Nellis AFB, Clark County, Nevada -   United States of America
Phase: Initial climb
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Hill AFB, Utah (HIF/KHIF)
Destination airport:Nellis AFB, Nevada (LSV/KLSV)
Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
Narrative:
Destroyed 15/1/1982 when impacted the ground east of Nellis AFB, Nevada. The F-16 was part of a two-ship and both were coming from Hill AFB to bring spare parts. The unit was on a TDY to Nellis at the time of the mishap.

78-0048 landed first and the aircraft was on a normal landing approach. On touchdown the main landing gear collapsed. This was supposed to be impossible but it happened. Probable cause was that the gear was not fully down. The centerline fuel tank exploded on contact with the runway.

The pilot selected full afterburner and managed to get the aircraft airborne again. The pilots logic would be that the entire ramp at Nellis was packed with aircraft and that he didn't want his disabled aircraft to slide off the runway and cause a major accident. The pilot climbed to approximately 1,500 feet, trailing about a 100 feet of flames, banked the aircraft left towards the desert, levelled out and ejected. There was a cheer from everyone who witnessed the accident when the pilots' chute opened.

F-16A 78-0048 came down on the slopes of the 3,364-foot (1,025-metre) Sunrise Mountain, in Clark County, east of Las Vegas, Nevada, at approximate co-ordinates 36°13′28″N, 114°58′37″W

Sources:

1. http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/48/
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/Sunrise_Mountain_(Las_Vegas)
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/388th_Fighter_Wing#Tactical_Air_Command

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
04-Nov-2008 10:35 ASN archive Added
20-Nov-2011 14:44 Dr. John Smith Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
29-Oct-2013 22:10 Dr. John Smith Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
04-Nov-2013 00:34 Dr. John Smith Updated [Operator, Source]
11-Feb-2021 14:25 Nepa Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Operator]

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