Posted on 11/12/2021 11:39:33 PM PST by blueplum
One of the U.S. Air Force's Boeing B-52 bombers has been damaged after its wing clipped a fence while it was being moved around on an airbase in Louisiana.
The bomber, also known as the Stratofortress, was being positioned in order to be put on display when the driver of a tow misjudged the distance between the plane's right wing and a metal perimeter fence.
The fence appeared to have penetrated through the skin of the aircraft and punctured the right wing leaving a significant amount of structural damage and its starboard fuel tank ...
[photos at link]
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
That’ll ‘buff’ right out...
Besides, it ain’t even hurt, much. This one flew for 6 hours essentially without any tail:
My old airbase, 1970-74
It’s what happens when merit is no longer a part of the equation.
Just like how I don’t want a doctor who came last in their class operating on me if I can help it.
I cannot imagine moving a B-52 without a wingwalker.
Should have never happened. There are spotters at each wing, plus a spotter in the back, plus a spotter at the front, in front of the tow vehicle. All have radios.
Someone(s)’s ‘gonna got hammered.
Thats okay, the tow operator had their Covid vaccines, had completed CRT Training, and was self identifying as female at the time of the accident so it is understandable.
Most likely, you are correct.
Such incompatible contact - whether it be with container ships or fences - is actually fitting for an armed forces which sanctions and even facilitates the union of those of the same sex.
♪ Gimme 40 acres and I’ll turn this BUFF around ♫
That’ll ‘buff’ right out...
—
BUFF being the unofficial nickname of the B-52. Big Ugly Fat F*cker.
Thjat old song is Well remembered!
Yes. It can happen. We were backing a 30 ton crane through a high-voltage (380,000 volt) power station switchyard. Everybody was (properly!) watching the rear of the crane truck as it winded and twisted its way backwards through the transformers and overhead wires - making sure each had the proper distance from the cab and the rear end. Problem was, the big hook right in front of the driver snagged a barbed wire security fence on the other end of the crane.
I saw it just in time to stop the crane, untangle the barbed wire, and prevent a backlash of wire, cables, posts, and hook near all the powered up bare cables.
But, on a taxiway on an airbase that has been in use since the 50’s for bombers this size? How do you get the wing so far over it hits a fence?
Well, at least Biden didn't leave the plane behind in Afghanistan.
Just to frame this in context:
The Wright brothers' 1903 Flyer was 59 years old when the last B-52 was built.
The last B-52 built is now the same age: 59 years old.
Someone’s going to be pulling parts from the Aircraft Maintenance And Regeneration Center (AMARC), aka “the bone yard”, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
.....we moved a lot of F-105s, etc. back in the day....always had wing walkers....always.....some folks need to lose a stripe or two over this...should have never happened....
So now we can add bombers to the group of surface and submarine vehicles that the US military has trouble moving.
So much standard discipline has been lost in our military.
Excellent use of your ground guides.
Wow! In the old days of Strategic Air Command a lot of people would be getting fired all the way up to the Deputy Commander for Maintenance.
When stationed at Barksdale in the mid-80s, we had 3 Supervisor of Flying (SOF) vehicles damaged when hit by a taxing B-52, because the Captain (usually another pilot) working as the SOF parked the vehicle in the wrong spot before circling the aircraft for a pre-take off safety check. The Wing Commander was less than impressed and those pilots that parked in the wrong spot ended up having to pay for some of the vehicle repair costs.
Needless to say somebody screwed up big time. With the vax mandate I wouldn’t doubt if we see more if these types of accidents as the not-vax takes it toll on our Military personnel. Currently live close to a Fighter Wing and it is just a matter of time before an F-15E falls out of the sky, due to issues with the poison they are being forced to inject in their bodies.
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