Posted on 01/24/2022 2:32:41 PM PST by yesthatjallen
Wow. Sad but interesting stories. I was fortunate to have only seen the one incident where someone died. I was in the CATTC and watched it on closed circuit TV. There is a guy I associate with on social media that knew the young man who died. He worked with him on the deck.
Well I would guess the papers I signed when enlisting would constitute a contract. I never had to worry about the draft in the early 80’s. End of the day they honored what my papers said and I was fortunate enough to not have to work the flight deck.
The radar room was quote chilly all the time however. They had to keep it cool I’m guessing because the age of the radar consoles. They were from the year I was born in the 60’s. Crazy that they were using such old machinery when I was in. I also never saw one of the consoles break down in the 3 plus years I was on that ship.
It added that the aircraft carrier had been able to resume normal flight operations shortly after. But it leaves the Navy with a complex salvage operation if it is avoid its most sophisticated warplane, crammed with futuristic technology, falling into Chinese hands.
I still have to question the wisdom of building 100 Million Dollar fighter planes. Something got me looking up the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri in 1945. In celebration the USA flew 2000 aircraft over in formation as the ceremony ended. My guess is none of those aircraft were worth $100M perhaps all 2000 of them weren't even worth $100 Million.
Wonder what the cause was? The cause was someone was flying an F35 fighter aircraft. What could possibly go wrong...? Just about everything. Most expensive fighter aircraft ever, and a highly trained Navy fighter pilot can’t fly it. Boondoggle from the start, no fixing it.
No doubt the F-35 is overengineered, complicated, and expensive.
The same can be said of nearly any top end weapons system at any given time. I recall when the Tomcat entered the fleet, the same things were said about it. It became a classic.
A good case in point is also the Abrams Tank. There was a lot of talk about what a turkey it was, it would never be able to work in a desert, too complicated, too fragile, to thirsty. In the end, probably the finest MBT of all time.
I wouldn’t write it off yet. As for the cost, it is something like $75 million per airframe. If one thinks that it would be more palatable at $25 million per airframe, it is good to remember that the gallon of milk I paid $4.50 for yesterday cost a third of that at $1.50 in 1975 when the Tomcat entered the fleet.
Flying military aircraft, especially when you “train like you fight” is costly, demanding, and dangerous where the complicated machinery (in a very hazardous environment like a flight deck) is being serviced by 18-19 year old guys.
Having a very expensive plane will not deny the devil his due, crashes will and do occur.
I remember going on the ship for the first time, and after we left port, we got a very stern, but businesslike talking to by our Chief. Of course, we had all seen the training films, things like "The Man From LOX" and the ones that showed various guys involved in mishaps. It was like watching "The Wheels of Tragedy" in High School when you were in Driver Ed class. It made you drive safe. For a little while.
It went something like: "The flight deck is a dangerous place. People get killed due to carelessness, mistakes, or sometimes just bad luck. And often, it won't be you who dies. It will someone who depended on you to do your job right. It happens. It happens to you. This is deadly serious. There will be no horseplay or grab ass on the flight deck, ever. If I see it, your job will be to wash planes with rags in the hangar bay. Forever."
I can't remember the wording, but I remember the tone. And we took it to heart. In my time, I never, ever saw anyone being deliberately stupid on the flight deck during flight operations. Ever.
An Abrams looks like the baddest SOB in the valley, the Tomcat looks as if it was going 500 Mph sitting still. The F-35 looks like one of those little kid planes you used to see outside supermarkets, with a video game inside. BTW, see where COVID crashed one in the South China Sea? Pilot just had his jab, failed to get airborne. One needle, 85 million bucks.
I think it is good to keep in mind that things are different in the sky these days. A fourth generation fighter like an F-14, F-18, F-16, or an F-15 has little chance against a trained pilot in a fifth generation fighter like an F-22 or F-35 who is using sound doctrine and well maintained equipment.
I had the opportunity a few years back to visit a man to do some computer work in his house, and the walls in the room we were in were covered with plaques from various military schools and commands, campaigns, certificates, etc. At the time, he was flying trans-Pacific routes with a major airline.
Being the aviation nut I am, I engaged him in conversation about his career, and he had begun as a Marine pilot, transferred to the Air Force, and ended his career after the F-22 had been in operation and routinely engaged in exercises.
He had flown every fighter from the A-4 Skyhawk and Harrier up to the F-15, and had just resigned from the Air National Guard over their policies regarding homosexuality. (he was a devout Christian)
He had amassed a huge amount of cockpit time over the years, and had been most recently flying F-16s. It was apparent he was a fighter pilot who had been up near the top of the pyramid, quite accomplished.
I asked him if he had ever flown against F-22s, and he said "Oh yes. Never flown one, but flown against them in an adversarial role."
I asked him what that had been like, and he replied simply, matter-of-factly, and without any trace of humor: "It was like being a baby seal."
I will say, that normally I would be even far more sanguine about the prospects of the F-35 to achieve its place, but I think the entire structure of the military, top to bottom, that is required to put the pilot at 40,000 feet with ordinance to be used against an adversary is...deficient. I don't see it getting better anytime soon. And that will, I believe, make it harder for that platform to work through its inevitable teething problems.
Not so!
A “pilot error” aircraft carrier accident is generally a career ending event!
NOBODY wants to screw up around or at “The Boat!”
As the F-35C pilot neared the USS Vinson, he “called the ball,” but also said he was experiencing sudden and intense chest pain, as if “someone hit me with a baseball bat.” The Landing Signal Operator aboard the USS Vinson noticed at once that the F-35 was above glideslope and would miss the wires. He ordered the pilot to “wave off” just as the pilot’s crackled voice said on the radio, “Fucking vaccine.” The pilot had barely enough strength to eject safely, though several boatswain’s mates on the flight deck were injured when the plane struck the deck.
The pilot was recovered and taken to medical, where a physician determined he had suffered an acute case of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, a common and potentially deadly side effect of Covid-19 vaccinations. The USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-Class carrier, has a fully functional medical ward on its 2nd deck, complete with diagnostic equipment, including CRT and MRI scanners, found in contemporary hospitals.
The pilot, current condition unknown, got his booster shot aboard the USS Vinson 72-hours prior to the accident. He had no comorbidities, and passed a medical examination on 9/5/2021.
Other aviators aboard the Vinson described him as “an accomplished and competent aviator with thousands of hours of flight time in a broad range of aircraft, and dozens of successful carrier landings.”
This information came to RRN via a senior Navy officer who said the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps received a briefing on the accident.
As an aside, the Vinson’s CO, Capt. P. Scott Miller, is a “black hat” who has endorsed the criminal Biden administration.
China has shot down its first F-35 and we helped them. It was the China virus that disabled the pilot after his booster shot gave him myocarditis and had a heart episode just as he was landing. Every single pilot that has had their booster shot should be grounded and evaluated. No more covid shots for military members. Biden had screwed up our entire military now. Chinese virus and Dr. Fauci successful in destroying our country and democrats let them do it.
Apologies for my lack of clarity. I was speaking more in terms of maintenance/ maintainers. At the depot “D” level where I was a civilian for many years I had the opportunity to see a couple of JAG investigations. One involved loss of air crew and the other did not.. While not directly involved thankfully, the intensity between the two investigations was obvious.
When an aircraft is lost is one thing.....when life is lost is a whole ‘nother thing...and rightfully so.
I got that same email last night.
DOD has got a whole lotta ‘splainin’ to do!
Apology accepted!
I did not want uninformed FReepers to get the wrong impression!
Every time I flew, I wanted the outcome to be positive, and I wanted to be able to re-use my airplane!
I wonder why the pilot did not engage his ACLS?
Surely, ACLS is in common use by now for all carrier aircraft?
Women drivers!
They can but seldom turn it on. In the South China Sea the ALCS system would broadcast a signal from the ship giving away its location. If they new the pilot was incapacitate they may have used it, but the pilot was not in distress until he was on final approach. The LSO waived him off but the pilot waited too long to go around. He was probably using auto throttles and a mode one or two approach. The mode 3 or higher (don’t know about the the F-35) possibly, but even mode 2 or 3 uses ILS from the ship. So he was using the auto throttles and the ball only. He waited to long to waive off and it sounds like he still messed up that approach to hit the deck so hard, likely far past the LSO station and way past the wires. He may have parachuted back on the deck after the ejection, but they have not said if they fished him out of the water. Pilot should have boltered or gone around way earlier in the approach when he was to high. He aimed for the deck in a last ditch effort to save the landing and it sounds like he was nearly unable to fly the aircraft at that point and desperately attempted to make the deck. In either case a bad situation and things happen really fast on final approach. The pilot may have been attempting to save the jet knowing he was about to lose it physically. Who knows?
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