The Easy Thing for the Air Force not always the Right Thing
LtGen Craig Franklin is the 3rd Air Force Commander and the convening authority for the court martial of LtCol James Wilkerson, the Aviano F-16 pilot who was convicted of sexual assault at...
View ArticleT-38 Crashes in Texas, Crew Ejects
The two-man crew of a T-38C at Sheppard AFB ejected with minor injuries on Friday. As with the prior F-16 mishap a few weeks ago, there are already reports that the jet was downed by a birdstrike. One...
View ArticleF-16s Collide, One Pilot Ejects
Two US Air National Guard F-16s collided over the ocean near the coast of Virginia. One pilot ejected, the other recovered his aircraft: Two Air National Guard fighter jets collided midair, forcing one...
View ArticleLieutenants Get First Flights in F-22 Raptor
Some time ago the Air Force began giving pilot training graduates an assignment to the F-22 directly out of UPT. Previously, pilots had to be trained in another fighter — F-15, F-16 — first, then take...
View ArticleReport: F-16 Pilot Flew into Afghan Mountain
The Air Force Times reports on the Air Force investigation that determined Capt James Steel was flying visually when he impacted a mountain during his recovery to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, in April...
View ArticleTwo Investigations Blame Pilot Error for Fatal Crashes
The Air Force released two investigation reports blaming pilots for two separate F-16 crashes this year. In the first, Capt Lucas Gruenther was killed when he ejected from his F-16 during a night...
View ArticleF-16 Crash Caused by Lack of Sleep
The Air Force has released a report indicating the August midair collision of two F-16s off the coast of Virginia was caused by one of the pilot’s poor sleep habits: The accident investigation report...
View ArticleLockheed Still Building F-16s, 40 Years On
In 2012, Lockheed Martin delivered the last F-22 off its assembly line, a mere 9 years after the first delivery of a production F-22 in 2003. The original F-22 buy plan had been 750 aircraft. The...
View ArticleAir Force Urgently Replacing Ejection Seat Beacons
On February 5th, the Air Force Times reported the US Air Force has experienced a spate of problems with the emergency locator beacons intended to help rescuers find downed airmen [emphasis added]: The...
View ArticleFighter Pilot Col Stephen Williams to be New USAFA Commandant
Col Williams, left, and his wife at the Misawa 2014 National Day of Prayer. The Air Force Academy announced Col Stephen Williams has been selected for promotion to Brigadier General and for the...
View ArticleF-16s Collide, One Pilot Ejects over Kansas
The Air Force reported that two Oklahoma National Guard F-16s collided during training yesterday. One pilot ejected safely; the other returned to base. Two Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16 fighter jets...
View ArticleF-16 Crashes in Gulf, Pilot Killed
An F-16 pilot from Tyndall AFB was killed last Thursday morning when his jet crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The pilot was civilian Matthew LaCourse, a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and 1978 US Air...
View ArticleUSAF F-16 Pilot Killed in Crash in Middle East
The Air Force announced Tuesday that Capt William DuBois was killed when his F-16 crashed “in the Middle East” in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Officially, the crash was declared not combat...
View ArticleF-16 Crash Blamed on Pilot Error
Last October’s midair collision between two Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16s was blamed on pilot error: The pilots…were flying in formation, conducting tricky combat maneuvers, with a third F-16 role...
View ArticleAir Force May Mothball F-16s if A-10 Stays
The US Air Force will reportedly ship perfectly good F-16s to the desert — and potentially slow down the F-35 program — if it is forced to keep the A-10 beyond the date it wants it retired: The House...
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