F-16 Fighter Fires At School In New Jersey

www.nbc10.com ^ | 3:56 pm EST November 4, 2004 | www.nbc10.com

[Pastnowfuturealpha]

One of Clinton's people perhaps - upset over the election -

Whatever the reason - I'm glad it happened at night - when people weren't in the building -

[Terabitten]

The pilot of the single-seat jet was supposed to fire at a target on the ground three and half miles away from school on the Warren Grove firing range, Webster said. The military firing range covers parts of Little Egg Harbor, Bass River and Woodland townships in the southern part of the state. "We don't know what happened that caused the gun to fire," Webster said. The plane was 7,000 feet in the air when the shots were fired. The gun, an M61-A1 Vulcan cannon, is located in the plane's left wing. "The National Guard takes this situation very seriously," said Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. "The safety of our people and the surrounding communities are our foremost concern."

I'm a grunt, not a pilot, but 7000 feet and 3 1/2 miles from the range does NOT sound like the typical strafing profile. Is there any possibility the gun misfired? I don't know *anything* about F16s, but is it possible that an electrical malfunction caused the gun to fire? It's interesting that the spokesperson said they didn't know what caused the gun to fire, not that they didn't know why the pilot fired the gun.

[ErnBatavia]

New twist to the term "Air Rage"...

[Petronski]

Revenge for decades-old "does not play well with others" notation in his PERMANENT file.

[TankerKC]

Electric jet, with electric firing pin, maybe electrical problem (it has happened before).

But only 25 rounds? I'd be more inclined to believe that if he popped of 640.

True, we should wait for the report.

[putupjob]

Investigate. Courtmartial.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Yeah, but did the pilot show up for all of his physicals?

[Trepz]

Look for the dnc and the MSM to blame The President.

[starvingstudent]

"You're ready NOW mister!"

[skyman]

It's Bush and the Republicans plan. Now that he is re-elected this is only the first step. Next it will be M1A1 tanks in the streets. :-)

sarcasm-sarcasm-sarcasm

Just wait Michael Moore or Begela will probably say something like this soon.

[broadsword]

Muslim pilot?

[sandpit]

National Guard folks do some pretty strange things. In 1992 at Fort Stewart, GA, a Tennessee NG Artillery unit landed a round near one of the housing areas. They had their azimuth (or whatever you call them) was way off. Fortunately there were no injuries. Unit commander was relieved of duty.

[kingu]

The range has been used by the military since the end of World War II, long before the once-rural area was developed.

Wow, range 3 1/2 miles away... Yeah, that'd be the place I'd want to move to. Bet there will be calls to close the place down.

[Barnstormer]

There WILL be consequences for public schools that fail to perform!!

[glock rocks]

What about the zero-tolerance of guns at schools? This pilot is in big big trouble. Wait till his father gets home.

Silliness aside, someone (captain or colonel or both) is going to get a red butt over this, and I certainly hope they only do their range practice when the school is unoccupied by children. Vulcans and small humans are not a good mix. If this were my children's school, I'd be livid beyond words. If it was an equipment malfunction, they'd be wise to look for an alternative range. Yesterday. Bad news.

[Thinkin' Gal]

F-16 Fighter Fires At School In New Jersey

Kerry precinct?

[MeanWestTexan]

This just in:

John Kerry put himself in for a Purple Heart because of this incident.

[dmz]

What's missing from this story as posted is any indication that the pilot reported a malfunction.

[Blueflag]

3000 pounds per minute = 50 rounds per sec. max.

for 1/2 sec the knee board hits the trigger. 25 rounds fire.

For 20 minutes until he is back on the ground the pilot considers his options....