Tac84 08
Tac84 08
Tac84 08
Tac Attack
Angle of Attack
The air and ground losses reflected in this old pilots. Maj John Gibbs (who really isn't that old)
issue of TAG Attack are intended to remind us that shares a dozen bullets of back-to-basics
during the first half of 1984 we have lost more than information that flight commanders and section
cold statistics. We have lost dear friends and leaders throughout T AC should use as a starter to
precious combat capability. While our record is answer the question.
about the same as last year at the midway point, Also in this issue, Lt Col Tim Kinnan takes a
operator factor is higher than last year. There is no detailed look at what happens inside the engine
time in our business to rest on laurels. Still, we are during compressor stalls. Nearly all jets are
optimistic that the last half of the year will parallel susceptible when we fly in the top left side of the
the 1983 history. flight envelope. Capt Larry Danner explains that
One reason for our optimism is that we have the reason your F-16 doesn't always rotate when
begun to receive your reports on TAC Safety Day. you expect it can be right in front of your eyes.
The reports confirm one thing we already knew-- And MSgt David MacDonald provides his own
you know how to make things better. We are "bullets" for towing an aircraft from here to yon in
reviewing each report in detail and will be sharing one piece.
the lessons learned through command and safety Let's capitalize on the lessons of safety day,
channels. listen to the troops, and work smarter. Time
While current leadership writings extol the invested in building the team and drilling on the
virtues of one-minute management, quality basics will be returned in performance.
circles, and other buzz words, we in TAC continue
to rely on the value of listening. The basic
organization of the command is the flight or
section. Flight commanders and section leaders
are in position to learn good ideas from their
~
teammates. But that doesn't just happen . Each of
us must be innovative in soliciting ideas on doing
the mission smarter--therefore safer. Don 't wait for
the next safety day to listen . Harold E. Watson, Colonel USAF
In hangar flying sessions, younger pilots
wonder (but seldom ask) how bold pilots become Chief of Safety
2 AUGUST 1984
TAC AITA2le.
ON THE COVER:
A-70 Corsair II s
over the midwest.
AUGUST 1984
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
TAG ATTACK is not directive in nature . Recommendations are inte nded to comply with existing directives. Opinions
expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the positions of TAC or USAF. Mishap informat ion does not ident ify the
persons, places, or units involved and may not be construed as incriminating under Article 31 of the UCMJ . Ph otos and artwork
are representative and not necessarily of the people or equipment invo lved.
Contributions are encouraged , as are comments and criticism . We reserve the right to edit all manuscripts f or readabili t y and
good taste . Write the Editor, TAG ATTACK. HQ TAC/ SEP, Langley AFB , VA 23665 ; or call AU TO VO N 432-3658.
Distribution F(X} is controlled by TAC/ SEP through the PDQ, based on a ratio of 1 copy per 10 persons assigned . DOD units
other than USAF have no fixed ratio ; requests will be considered individually .
Subscriptions for readers outside of DOD are available from the Superin tendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,
Washington , D.C . 20402 . All correspondence on subscription service should be directed to the superintendent , not to TAC/ SEP.
TAG ATTACK (ISSN 0494-3880) is published monthly by HQ TAC/ SEP, Langley AF B, VA .
POSTM ASTER : Send address changes to TAG ATTACK. TAC/ SEP. Langley AFB , VA 23665.
Second-class postage paid at Hampton , Virginia, and additiona l mai ling offices .
4 AUGUST 1984
Now, let's look at what
happens when we roll down the
runway with our underserviced
nose strut (Figure 3). The first
effect will be less lift developed
by the wing (Lw) because the
nose is lower and thus the initial
angle of attack is lower than it
would be on the same aircraft
with correctly serviced struts.
Consequently, the natural
tendency of Lw to raise the nose
is reduced . As Lw (which is
forward of the CG) increases, the
weight supported by both the
nose strut (Wn ) and main gear
struts (Wm) is reduced , but Wn is
reduced faster than Wm . If the
forward velocity is increased
enough, the aircraft wil l tend to
rotate and fly without any input
from the pilot; however, to keep
the takeoff roll within reasonable
tire speed and runway length
limits, we require the pilot to
make flight control inputs.
Thus, the pilot enters the
picture. The pilot's input is aft
stick pressure which drives the
trailing edge of the horizontal
tails up and, therefore, creates a
downward lift component (Lht).
This downward lift vector, well aft
of the CG, forces the tail down
and the nose up. If the pilot does
not apply full back pressure (the
performance chart assumption
for computing rotation speed),
the Lht will be less and
therefore, not lift the nose until
increased airspeed makes up for
the reduced pitch input. The
aircraft will eventually become
airborne; it is simply a matter of
gaining enough speed to raise
the nose.
In our attempts to make the
rotation and takeoff occu r at the
computed numbers, we must
ensure the servicing is correct
and then input fu ll aft stick. If this
is not done, the aircraft cannot
rotate at the computed speed.
TAG ATTACK 5
up bar, maintenance usually rotation speed is critical if you
6 AUGUST 1984
AIR CREW
OF
DISTINCTION
TAC ATTACK 7
Chock talk
Incident and
Skipped step
A worker was performing maintenance on the
armament control panel of an A-1 0. To get at the
works behind the panel and to have more room to
maneuver his tools, he raised the landing gear
handle. When the job was complete, he signed off
the aircraft forms and headed for another job.
A while later, a pilot came out to fly the aircraft.
When he started the first engine, hydraulic fluid
found its way to the nose gear actuator, and the
nose gear retracted . Kabam! The Warthog 's snout
slammed to the concrete ramp. The actuator was
only doing what the raised gear handle was telling
safety lock damaged the door. It bent it up so badly it.
that it couldn 't be repaired locally. Imagine what it In the A- 10, a solenoid operated mechanism
could have done to the chief's arm. He was lucky. locks the handle in the down position. Normally the
Even safety equipment that 's designed to prevent handle can 't be raised until weight is off the gear.
injuries can bite if it's used improperly. But a manual override feature allows maintenance
The Phantom has been around a long time. And workers to move the handle while the aircraft is on
its aux air door bite is about as well known as that the ground.
8 AUGUST 1984
INCIDENTALS WITH A MAINTENANCE SLANT _ _ _ _ _ _ __
TAG ATTACK 9
My purpose in this article is to explain in
layman's terms how compressor stalls occur.
Very basically, a compressor can be thought of
as a fan that pulls air through the tube. If the tube
behind the fan is constricted, the air becomes
THE FIGHTER compressed (Figure1). If we install a valve to adjust
COMPRESSOR
AIR FLOW
)\ALVE
TO COMPRESSOR FIGURE 1
10 AUGUST 1984
significant, because it means the compressor compressor) and bolt it behind the inlet of a fighter.
doesn't have to deviate very far from normal flow The valve behind the compressor in our theoretical
before it stalls. When that occurs, the blades can engine has been replaced in the actual engine by
no longer effectively pull the air through the tube; turbine inlet guide vanes. The compressor operates
so the flow decreases drastically, and the in much the same manner as before, and either
compression drops. This is depicted in Figure 3 distorting the flow into the compressor or raising the
pressure behind it will have the same effect (cause
MIS s RE a stall) as closing the theoretical valve.
RISE There are three general ways to distort the flow
CLOSED
r
r
into or raise the pressure behind the compressor:
A compressor damage, engine malfunctions, and pilot
r
r / inputs. Compressor damage, usually the result of
r
/
r
/ / OPEN FOD or birdstrikes, can distort the flow, and the inlet
/
r
r
// UNSTALLED CONSTA and engine controls have no way to compensate.
/ // ;1/1
/ / SPEED LINE Engine malfunctions can result from many things,
// C
such as material failure or improper engine rigging.
B/ / , UNSTALL POINT
... ' The cause that you have the most control over is,
// STALLED CONSTANT SPEED LINE
IN
of course, pilot inputs. If you make abrupt changes
<
TAG ATTACK 11
PRESSURE
RISE
GUIDE TO
COMPRESSOR STALLS
sumli STAGNATION
(NON-RECOVERABLE STALL CYCLE)
12 AUGUST 1984
USAF----
SAFETY
AWARDS
The 4th Tactical Fighter Wing made an
outstanding flight safety sweep in 1983. The wing
won the Colombian Trophy for flying more than
27,000 hours and 23,300 sorties in F-4 aircraft
without a Class A or B mishap; the USAF Flight
Safety Plaque for meritorious achievement in
mishap prevention; and the TAG Flight Safety
Award for flying one year without a command-
controlled Class A mishap.
• ••
TAG ATTACK 13
Tow to tow
14 AUGUST 1984
The proper towing speed middle of a tow, one of his
is 55 mph. Have you ever been maintenance people changed his
driving a pickup on the flight line career field to civil engineering.
and been passed by an aircraft Checking the AFTO Form
that's being towed by a Coleman 373 (Operator's Inspection
(MB-4) and tow bar? have
I Guide) is only required when
the tow vehicle runs out of gas
or the transmission quits for
no apparent reason. Nothing
turns my hair gray quicker than
hearing someone say, "Just keep
pumping the brake; it will
eventually stop." And when the
Coleman breaks down, there is
the mad rush to sign off all the she is assigned to. In fact, the
missing daily inspections-or tow team supervisor is
worse, the driver will suddenly responsible for the entire
realize it's a different month than operation. Period. If there is any
received phone calls from my the one printed on the form. doubt or question about being
boss asking me if tail number Once the tow starts is a able to safely proceed, he or she
074 qualified for the Indy 500. good time for the vehicle is required to stop the towing
Then he asks for my presence in operator to take a break. The operation.
his office. Believe me, flight break lasts until the aircraft Let's face it, towing an aircraft
chiefs don't need this. reaches its destination, with or is easy, and these pitfalls can be
Yellow lines on the flight without him. Would you believe avoided. But anyone on a tow
line and taxiways are just for some operators have been team can ruin the unit's safety
pilots. have spent hours
I known to smoke, drink, talk, and record just by not paying
helping dig aircraft tires out of read while driving a vehicle attention. The solution to
the mud because some yo-yo problems like these that
towed the aircraft 20 feet to the sometimes occur while towing an
side of the center yellow line. aircraft between points A and B
is integrity. Don't hurt yourself
or damage the aircraft you
maintain. Do it right, and save
your flight chief some
aggravation that he or she
doesn't need.
TAC ATTACK 15
OUR TAC AND lAC-GAINED
JANUARY -JUNE 1984
16 AUGUST 1984
LOSSES IN THE AIR
TAC ATTACK 17
GIBBER'S DOZEN BULLETS
•
how to surv1ve a single-
18 AUGUST 1984
OR
eE fficiency (or economy of your wingman over the limit, is
effo rt) . Organize yo ur cockpit. inexcuseable.
Depending on the flyi ng e Unnatu ral. If it feels unnatural ,
demands, place your checklists (i.e., night weather formation)
where they can do you some there's a good reason for it. It's
good, not where they requi re your mind telling you to back off.
seat fighter unnecessary movements or
where they compete fo r your
You may be pushing the limit of
you r gas or you r low altitude
att ention. D evelop and use good comfo rt level or the regulations.
habit patterns. Organize your L isten to your personal warning
missions in the same way. device.
challenged. Idle hands and all "Cosmicity" kil ls in my book. e Lead (not led) . Every single-
that. Simp le tacti cs with straig ht seat fighter pilot shou ld be a
e l nstruments . Yo u must be the forward backups always work leader. Just because you are a
best instrument pilot there is. best, especially in combat. One wingie doesn 't mean you don 't
Handling complex situations or of my squadron commanders put lead. Do you participate in
emergencies in the weather is it best: "To the IP you are a mission preparation and debrief,
not the time to discover you clock; to the target you are a or do you do as told? Do you tell
have no crosscheck. I know bomb." KISS (keep ing it simp le) your leaders what really went
" sunshine IFR " is not the best is a proven technique. wrong, or do you just gripe at the
place to develop good instrument • Regulations. Know them . bar? Don't let bad leaders lead
habit patterns, but be honest with How many accident reports have you down the wrong path.
yourself-use a chase and rea lly you read th at might have been e Emergencies . Again, keep it
fly heads down now and again. avoided if the pilot had fo llowed simple. Have a plan to get your
Don't pencil-whip those regulations, known the Dash One jet on the ground, wheels down,
approach requirements. Use your better, or used common sense safely. Develop rules of thumb
time in the simulator effectively; (see below). In today's Air Force, that al low you to maintain control
work on instruments, not tryi ng to there's plenty of cha llenging while you analyze the situation.
depart it or zoom to 100,000 feet. tactical aviation within the Climb, stabilize, cope. Don 't kiss
If it has visual capability, crank in regulations . If you don 't like off your emergency procedure
a 300-foot ceiling and 1 mile vis. them, don't disregard them. practice sessions . Learn from
Instrument flying is as important e sense (as in common) . I like others' mistakes and situations.
to single-seat flying as BFM. to say that the rules of e safety . Added to make an
eB iindfold Cockpit Check . engagement we fly with are a even dozen. Serious ly, if you
Have you done one since UPT? I replacement for common sense. follow all the above rules, safety
can 't always put my fingers on We all know that most ROE was will take care of itself.
every switch the first time, but I developed from accidents where Well, Lieutenant, good flying to
can find every switch (and someone had a lapse in you. Of course, the worst flying I
change TACA N c hann els) common sense fo r one reason or ever had was great.
wit hout looking. Wh en it's IMC or another. Be aware of the impact Cheers,
night on the wi ng, I want to be of your decisions. Don't hesitate The Gibber __...::::....
able to handle the situation or to make them, but use your
th e emergency without taking my head. Addendum for leaders: After he received his BS from Baylor
eyes off the primary att itud e Treat your peop le as if th ey can University in 1968. Major Gibbs went
indicator. think for t hemselves, or they will to pilot training in Laredo AFB, Texas.
• Humility. Be hum ble prove your worst suspicions to Since then he's flown the 0..2A in
Vietnam; the OV-10A in Thailand and
(occasionally anyway). Don' t let be wel l-founded. at Hurlburt Field, Florida; the A-70 at
your ego hide poor or unsafe e Realism . T ry to achieve England AFB, Louisiana; and the F-16
habit patterns. Listen to oth er realism on all sorties. In corporate at Hahn AB, Germany. While in
people. Li sten between th e lines; fence checks into all missions. Germany, he was also at the HQ
criticism is someti mes veiled. Be However, being "over realistic" is USAFE Command Center at Ramstein
and Chief of the Command Post at
critical of yourself. Being posit ive, very dangerous. Losing a combat Hahn. He's currently an F-161P at
not negative, makes a big aircraft in a noncombat situ ation, Luke AFB, Arizona, and has over 3,370
difference in your flying att itude. because you pus hed yourself or hours flying time.
TAG ATTA CK 19
NTEREST ITEMS,
Tac Tips
20 AUGUST 1984
MISHAPS WITH MORALS, FOR THE TAC AIR CREW MAN - - - - •
light. That 's why the Dash One says single markers - from the Navy. Wet hands can also
generator failure may be an early indication of oil complicate using som e of the other treasures
failure. But before the CSD gives up the ghost, the hidden in our survival kits. And more than one pilot
frequency differential between the two generators has commented about the difficulty he had
should cause the bus tie to open . For years releasing the Koch fittings on the parachute risers
aircrews have regarded the Bus Tie Open light while wearing wet flying gloves. Could you release
(with both generators operating) as the indication of yours? Think about it.
an out of phase condition . So in a vanilla F- 4, Now that warm weather 's here and many
answer B is probably the first cockpit indication . units are scheduling annual water survival training ,
Not so in an Arny jet (ARN -101-equipped F/ RF-4). maybe you could arrange some slippery hands-on
Answer C is the longest choice . Let's see why it 's training .
correct: the power supply for the ARN-101 's IMU
may shut down in respon se to the phase / frequency
oscillations before the bus tie opens . Apparently ,
the IMU is more sensitive to power fluctuations than
the system that was intended to protect it . First brick
W hen his landing gear didn 't come up after
he raised the handle on takeoff, an F-15 pilot put
Slippery survival gear the handle back down and decided to burn down
fuel for landing . With reliable gear down indications ,
he was flying multiple radar approaches when the
A ccording to the Navy's Weekly Summary, a Antiskid warning light came on . Now he made
couple of maintenance workers on the deck of a
carrier were unexpectedly blown overboard by the
exhaust from a turning aircraft . They were properly
attired in survival gear, but once in the water, they
experienced great difficulty in opening their sea dye
marker packets. One of the survivors managed to
work one packet partially open ; the other man just
couldn 't open his . The men said the sea water
made their hands slippery and required excessive
force to even partially open the little varmints . The
. dunkees and their CO invite you to deploy a sea
dye marker with wet hands-it's an eye opener.
Guess where the A ir Force gets its sea dye
TAC ATTACK
busy refueling. Once off the boom , my backseater
TAC TIPS and I went through the checklist for extreme
cockpit temperatures. But since we were up around
arrangements for an approach-end arrestment and 30,000 feet , I didn 't pull the vent knob-it wasn 't
brought the Eagle around for landing. bad enough to depart the flight and descend below
Unfortunately, he landed on the first brick-the 25,000 feet where the aircraft could be
wheels touched on the first few feet of the runway , depressurized.
but the tailhook hit in the overrun . And before the About thirty minutes later I felt like I was freezing.
hook completed the 1,000 plus-foot trip to the
cable, it was damaged by several collisions. The
first contact in the obstacle course was with a
threshold light This collision sheared the mounting
bolts and ripped the wear pad from the hook. Then
the hook tried to grab a raised portion of one of the
concrete slabs of the runway which caused the
hook to skip over the cable.
When the pilot realized a missed engagement , he
went around for another try. But even though this
touchdown was more like TACR 60-2 0 criteria for
landing, the hook missed the cable again . The pilot
elected to keep the aircraft on the ground this time
and brought the Eagle to a halt on the runway .
With the misalignment of concrete slabs just
before the cable, who 's to say the lad wouldn 't have
missed the engagement if his first landing had been I was shivering uncontrollably . When I looked in the
on the money? Then again , who 's to say the initial mirror, I saw icicles attached to my mask near my
damage caused by the short landing didn 't magnify exhalation valve. I asked around the mght if any
the problem? one had ever run into this on a deployment before .
A number of airfield managers and civil engineers One old , crusty guy had and told me to-
at a number of locations are working hard to fix the 1) Descend to 25,000 feet MSL.
runway hazards that cause hook skip. Looks like we 2) Set the air conditioner 's controls to auto / full hot
can help . 3) Push the defog / footheat lever full forward.
4) Slowly pull out the vent knob to depressurize the
aircraft.
5) Wait about 5 minutes with the cockpit
depressurized.
Brrrrrrrrr 6) Suddenly slam the vent knob back.
It worked like a charm . Ice flew all over the
S itting on the runway with the canopy down on cockpit, out of the air conditioning outlets and from
a sunny summer day waiting for clearance to the window defogger. Then heat slowly began filling
take off, the sweat runs into your eyes and stings so the cockpits. We rejoined the flight above us and
badly you can hardly see lead. Have you been there? cruised uneventfully to destination .
Or haven 't you climbed out of the cockpit drenched I thought this was an isolated incident until last
with sweat following a low-level mission in July or winter when a friend said he'd suffered frostbite on
August when it's 100 degrees on the ramp? Times his toes when the same thing happened to his F-4's
like these make many of us believe that the F-4's air conditioner on a flight back from Europe. So
cockpit cou ld never be cool enough. hang on to this; you may not need it now, but over
But there I was out over the Pacific, halfway the Atlantic or Pacific one day perhaps it'll be
between Hawaii and California , when my air useful.
conditioner stuck full cold. It was plenty warm when How do you remember these steps? Easy.
we took off, so it wasn 't that uncomfortable when I They 're actually the same ones in the checklist for
first noticed it I could hack it extreme cockpit temperatures. Have a look. The
A few minutes later it was a little chilly, but I was only difference is a little patience.
22 AUGUST 1984
SAFETY AWAR DS
CREW CHIEF SAFETY AWARD
During an operational readiness exercise, SGT
MARK T. HUNT was in the process of preparing his
aircraft for taxi when he noticed an aircraft taxiing
by that had the safety pin to the front ejection seat
still installed; the pin and bag were on top of t[ e
seat. Sergeant Hunt took immediate action. He
directed the aircraft to stop, connected the
intercom, and informed the aircrew of the
situation. If the safety pin had gone undetected
the pilot would not have been able to use the
primary ejection handle.
Sergeant King's actions ex mplify a dedicate
crew chief. His attention to detail, quick Sgt Mark T. Hunt
assessment, and quick action reduced the 37 AGS, 37 TFW
potential for a serious mishap to occur. George AFB, CA
In need of a buddy
A group of seven airmen who were off duty
headed for a local river for some fun in the sun.
Once they arrived at the river bank, they all
immediately entered the water. One of them, a
senior NCO , talked to another NCO about
swimming across the river. The senior NCO
indicated that he wasn 't confident enough in his
swimming ability to attempt the crossing.
Shortly afterwards, two other members of the
group swam across the river; and, as they were
swimming, they tried to talk the senior NCO into
following them. He began to. He made it halfway
and then turned around to try to go back. He sank
before he could get back. Some others in the group
tried to reach him, but they didn't get to him in time.
24 AUGUST 1984
Sheriff's department divers found his body four from loss of fluids and salt. Symptoms include
hours later. profuse sweating, weakness , rapid pulse, dizziness,
When our good sense tells us that we can 't hack nausea, headache, and possible unconsciousness.
it, we ought to listen-even if someone else tries to Treat it by resting , drinking a cool electrolyte
convince us that we can. But beyond that, even if solution or any other non-alcoholic fluids, and
we think we can swim the distance, we shouldn't try cooling the body.
it by ourselves. Having someone near you just in Heat stroke is the most dangerous of the heat-
case is called the buddy system. And that's what related illnesses. It's a failure of the body's cooling
buddies are for -to help you out when you get in mechanisms. Symptoms of heat stroke are the
trouble, not to goad you into it. same as heat exhaustion except that with heat
stroke there won 't be any sweating, the skin will be
flushed and the body will be hot. Some people can
co llapse from heat stroke without any warning
Heat stress symptoms. Heat stroke is a medical emergency.
Get the person to a hospital or doctor immediately.
In the meantime the important thing to do is cool
A Iter working or playing outside on a hot day, the body. Cool the body with water, bring the
have you ever felt dizzy or had muscle cramps? If person into an air-conditioned room or put them in
you have, then you probably had a rea ction to heat the shade, and remove as much clothing as
stress. possible.
Heat stress is a combination of environmental You can prevent a heat-related illness by drinking
heat and physical activity that produces body heat. plenty of fluids, increasing salt intake, wearing
You have to have both to create heat stress. The lightweight or light-colored clothes, and taking
body reacts according to the degree of heat stress, frequent breaks from the heat to cool down. Salt
and sometimes a heat-related illness occurs. There tablets are not recommended-eat salty foods; and
are three heat-related illnesses: heat cramps, heat alcoholic beverages are not recommended fluids
exhaustion, and heat stroke. because alcohol will dehydrate you even more. To
Heat cramps occur after hard physical activity in combine the fluids and salt, you can buy an
a hot environment. Loss of water is a factor, but electrolyte solution at the grocery store.
lack of salt intake is what causes the cramps. Legs It also helps to become acclimated to the heat.
and stomach are where you'll probably get the Start out slowly with a physical activity in the heat
cramps , and they will follow heavy sweating. To for about two hours a day for a week. That's all it
treat heat cramps you need to replenish the salt takes. Once you 're acclimated to the heat, it takes
you lost; so drink a cool electrolyte solution, loosen about two to three months to lose acclimation;
clothing, and rest. If you don't have an electrolyte however, a measurable amount can be lost in a few
solution, drink any non-alcoholic fluids and eat days. If you stay indoors in an air conditioned room
something salty, like potato chips or pretzels. for a whole weekend or if you have just returned
Heat exhaustion (also known as heat collapse or from a trip to a cooler climate, expect your heat
heat prostration) takes longer to develop and results tolerance to be lowered.
TAG ATTACK 25
Car Restra ints for Kids. As of February this year,
the only states that don 't have laws requiring the
use of approved child restraints or seat belts for
small children are Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana,
South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Several
of these states are expected to enact laws before
the year ends. And at least one insurance company
is offering a Century 200 child restraint device to
policyholders at a significantly reduced price ($20-
less than half the retail price). Check into it.
26 AUGUST 1984
Our TAC Losses on the Ground JAN-JUN 84
OFF-DUTY MISHAPS
Motorcycles
tttttttt
Automobiles
ttttt
Sports/
Recreation
t t tt
Bomb
explosion
t
Hit by train
t
Private acft
t
ON-DUTY MISHAPS
Industrial tt t PMV
TAC ATTACK 27
WEAPONS WORDS
Missing bombs
It was a wet and foggy night when a munitions
convoy made its way from the storage area to the
flight line holding area. Maybe that's why no one
noticed when three inert MK-82 , 500-pound bombs
fell from the 25-foot flatbed trailer somewhere along
the route. Everyone noticed their absence at the
flight line though.
All the bombs were recovered along the route,
and no one was injured-but what an example of
slighting tech data and substituting a jury-rigged
solution. Someone used aluminum rails instead of
wood to rest two of the bombs on. Then for
additional security, they connected a cargo strap
between the horizontal bracket of the rail extender
and the axle of the flatbed wheels. But instead of
shipment to depot for repair, couldn 't find a CNU- additional security, the strap caused increased
300 / E container. So he used a PI N 69F33200 con- vibration of the aluminum rails. So when the trailer
tainer that AIM-9P G&Cs are packed in. But the shop made a turn, one of the bombs shifted from its
28 AUGUST 1984
chained position and fell off the flatbed . With that
bomb missing, the chain, that ran the length of the
trailer, developed some slack which allowed the
other bombs to shift and fall .
One thing that might have prevented the
embarrassment was the alignment of the lugs on but he wasn 't able to because the majority of the
the bombs. Had they been turned to face either up bomb 's weight is up front in the nose, and his hand
or down, like the TO suggests, the lugs may have was back near the bomb's tail. And his
caught on the chain on top of the bombs or the concentration was on the safety pin. His hand and
rails beneath them his concentration were in the wrong places to
Shortcuts plus imaginative attempts to make up prevent the bomb from falling.
for them equal trouble. Good thing the bombs were That combination stacked the cards against him.
inert. But we can 't always count on that, can we? Loading bombs doesn 't have to be a gamble. We
just need to concentrate on doing it according to
Hoyle-or in our case, according to local
procedures.
It takes two
A weapons specialist on a load crew was
loading a BDU-330 / B practice bomb on station six
of a SUU-20 dispenser. He had one hand on the
bomb, back near the fin . With the other hand he
tried to insert a safety pin into the rack housing .
Before the pin went in , the bomb fell to the
concrete and discharged. Kapow! Even though the
older type safety block was installed on the nose of
the bomb , the BDU 's spotting charge fired .
The blast caused damage to the SUU-20, a MK-
106 practice bomb on an adjacent station , and the
crew chief. It singed the hair on his arm, dumped
phosphate dust on his neck, and sent him to the
hospital complaining of hearing problems.
Apparently there will be no permanent
complications , but it was close. The fellow learned
a tough lesson . Local directives require two workers
to upload BDU-33s-for good reason : the practice
bomb weighs only 25 pounds , but it caught the man
by surprise when it fell . He thought he could stop it,
TAC ATTACK 29
tenance debriefing.
Third, from a crew member's point of view, why
didn't the crew follow the old maxim, "If you don't
know what it does, don't mess with it"? Isn't "fire,
smoke, and fumes" considered an inflight emergency?
Most all of the Dash Ones I have encountered pro-
hibit reapplication of power to a system causing
smoke and / or fumes unless the cause is known and
corrected.
It appears this is another case of currency and
training requirements clouding normally sound
judgment. Let me tell you from firsthand experi-
ence, an inflight fire is not something to be taken
lightly. It can get very hot very quickly, especially in
the close confines of a fighter type aircraft.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, but
every time I read about an incident like this, it really
Letters to the Editor
bugs me.
Respectfully
Dear Editor Roy W. Adams, Jr., MSgt, USAF
1 ust a few lines to clear up an error in an other- Chief, AWACS Airborne Radar
wise excellent article, "Asking for It," April 1984, Technician Training
and to raise a couple of questions that were unasked.
First, the magnetron mentioned in your article is
the device used to generate the transmitted radar Dear Sergeant Adams
energy, not receive it nor display it. Thanks for correctly describing the magnetron. We
Second, why didn't the crew have the launch truck can't answer why the aircrew didn't call for a redba/1.
weapons control system technician check out the Let's give them the benefit of the doubt because we
problem? He or she is the expert on the entire radar don't know the history of the aircraft's radar;
system and quite possibly could have cleared the perhaps the initial indications of trouble weren't as
malfunction in a few minutes. Was there a history of cut and dried as it sounded.
radar problems on this aircraft? If so, perhaps We share your concern that the crew apparently
planning a show time a few minutes earlier would did not take the emergency more seriously. Yes,
have allowed a thorough maintenance check-out electrical fire/ smoke and fumes are F-4 emergency
when the problem was encountered. The best procedures. When we read about an aircrew slighting
troubleshooting aid a maintenance man has is to see them, it may bug you and me-but it could really
the problem as it occurs, rather than relying on a burn them up.
few AFTO 781A lines and ten minutes in main- Ed
Pass it along...
lAC - GAINED FTR/RECCE TAC - GAINED AIR DEFENSE lAC/GAINED Other Units
class A mishap- free months class A mishap- free months class A mishap- free months
146 188 TFG (ANG) 120 177 FIG 179 182 TASG (ANG)
138 138 TFG (ANG) 86 125 FIG 163 110 TASG (ANG)
137 917 TFG (AFR) 69 119 FIG 159 USAFTAWC
115 114 TFG&174TFW(ANG) 53 107 FIG 150 84 FITS
110 112 TFG (ANG) 44 147 FIG 93 552 AWACD
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1984-739-022/2
11 1:>0 1-001< UKf
IJ Ga>D DAY.