Posted on 07/18/2006 3:14:58 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
THE fleet of 26 F-111 aircraft has been temporarily grounded following an emergency landing by one of the RAAF fighters in Queensland today.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said the grounding was necessary to ensure there was nothing structurally wrong with the planes.
Air Marshall Geoff Shepherd said the left-wing wheel of the fighter fell off shortly after take off, an event that had never occurred in the 30-year flying history of the planes.
Dr Nelson paid tribute to the pilot, support crew and civilian emergency personnel for the way they handled the incident, which occurred at RAAF Amberley air base near Brisbane at about 2.10pm (AEST).
He said that in light of the incident, it was prudent to temporarily ground the aircraft.
"I understand the chief of Air Force will be ensuring our F-111 fleet is properly examined to ensure that all of them are safe to continue flying," he said.
"In the meantime they will be temporarily grounded for reasons that most Australians would understand and respect."
Air Marshal Shepherd said the pilot of the fighter was one of the most junior with the F-111s, having graduated from the basic conversion course a fortnight ago.
He was doing an operational upgrade, and flying with one of the nation's most experienced F-111 navigators.
"The fact that he was able to bring the aircraft down in such a very good way, I think bears well the training that we do," he said.
Air Marshal Shepherd said the aircraft had suffered only superficial damage in the accident.
"The aeroplane has some superficial damage, we believe that there's nothing structurally damaged so far in the aeroplane that would cause it not to be repairable," he said.
"The rapid assessment we've done shows that there's nothing of an airworthiness nature that would cause us to doubt the longevity of the F-111 capability."
Air Marshal Shepherd said there were still no clues as to why the aircraft's wheel fell off.
"On takeoff ... what happened was when he retracted the undercarriage ... the left main wheel fell off," he said.
"That's an occasion without precedence in 34 years of flying the F-111 in the RAAF."
Air Marshal Shepherd said the F-111 simulator at Amberley was used to determine the best way to land the aircraft, which flew for about three hours to burn off fuel. As the jet landed, its hook was deployed, enabling it to pick up a cable that helped bring it to a halt.
Dr Nelson said the F-111 fleet would not be back in the air until it was clear they were safe to fly.
But he said the incident did not change the Government's longer term plans for the F-111 and its replacement.
"This is an outstanding aircraft, it has served Australia very well for more than 30 years. It's got another six years of great flying time in front of it, and of course we're on track to replace it with the Joint Strike Fighter," Dr Nelson said.
I do hope our American friends remain ready to give us a hand if Oz is attacked over the next few days...
F-111's are supposed to be in the boneyard... :\
Wow, I didn't know anyone was still flying F-111s.
I wouldnt worry too much about that. I am sure America will be there for Australia. In the meantime it sounds like a maintenance problem to me. If I drove my 34 year old Buick out and the wheel fell off I would assume the wheel was fine when it was factory fresh 34 years ago
OK, who forgot to tighten the lug nuts?
Fair dinkum, Mite!
nice aircraft, just OLD technology. :)
What's the f for in a lot of planes (F-111, F-16, F-18, etc.), fighter?
On the off chance that you're series, yes F for fighter.
In the case of the F-111, the 'F' might stand for something else...
well, they are alot prettier than the f-4's, but give me a phantom anyday........
Like many USAF aircraft they were given the label F to impress Congress into more funding.
The F-111 would be more properly thought of as a light bomber.
It was designed to deliver nukes to the USSR while flying barely above tree top level.
The F-111 was originally (believe it or not) developed as a fighter-interceptor and ended up evolving into an attack aircraft and electronic warfare platform (EF-111 Raven). It was one of the last of the "Century Series" to be developed before the DoD changed the numbering system in the early 1960s and we started over again, ending up with the F-4, F-5, F-15, etc.
Basically, "F" is fighter, "B" is bomber, "A" is attack, "C" is cargo, "K" is tanker, "H" is helicopter. There's other letter prefixes that add up to a dizzying array of combinations.
}:-)4
I'd have to agree that the Phantom was one sweet-looking deathmachine, but for bad-ass-looking aerial death dealers, the B-1 is tops in my book.
Well, of late, the "F" designation has been "improperly" used to attract the best pilots, who are loath to fly attack/bombers. e.g. the F-17
On the off chance that you're series, yes F for fighter.
But it wasn't always so: Before 1947, fighters were "P" (for 'Pursuit') and "F" meant photoreconnaisonce, viz:
Republic F-12.
Variable Geometry like the Tomcat?
I was at an air show here in Kansas, when McConnell was home to a B1-B squadron.
The B1's all had the traditional bomber names painted on the noses, such as "Miss Lucy" or "Sabrina".
But my favorite was named "Peace through Urban Renewal"!!!
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