Posted on 01/05/2024 7:09:54 AM PST by george76
A B-1 Lancer bomber crash landed in South Dakota on Thursday, forcing the entire crew to eject during a training mission.
The crash landing took place at 5:50 p.m. at Ellsworth Air Force Base during a training exercise. The 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth said that the accident happened while the plane was “attempting to land on the installation. At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission. There were four aircrew on board. All four ejected safely.”
There were reportedly poor winter weather conditions at the time of the crash, which is still being investigated by an officer board.
B-1 bombers have been in use since the 1980s with about 60 being used by Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth Air Force Base,
...
The B-1B holds almost 50 world records for speed, payload, range, and time of climb in its class. The National Aeronautic Association recognized the B-1B for completing one of the 10 most memorable record flights for 1994. The most recent records were made official in 2004,” the Air Force says.
The aircraft was used extensively in both Iraq and Afghanistan during the early 2000s.
During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom, eight B-1s dropped nearly 40 percent of the total tonnage delivered by coalition air forces. This included nearly 3,900 JDAMs, or 67 percent of the total. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the aircraft flew less than 1 percent of the combat missions while delivering 43 percent of the JDAMs used.
...
Earlier this year, the Air Force lost track of an F-35 in South Carolina after the pilot ejected. Military officials had to ask for the public’s help finding the plane and describing the incident as a “mishap.” Debris from the plane was later located in Williamsburg County after hours of searching.
The plane, which cost about $100 million, kept going for about 60 miles after the pilot ejected. A spokesperson for Joint Base Charleston said the F-35B Lightning II jet from the Marine Attack Training Squadron was placed on autopilot before the pilot ejected.
The plane, which cost about $100 million, kept going for about 60 miles after the pilot ejected
~~~
Did the pilot panic???
Why would it keep going for 60 miles if this was a dire eject situation?
Bummer. The B-1 has about the highest maintenance hours to flight hours ratio in the Air Force, so not only is this a hull loss, it is a loss of one of the 50% of B-1Bs that were mission-capable aircraft.
I wonder what Red area they were training to bomb.
Well…. I bet that was exciting.
Hope everyone is okay.
60 miles in the grand scheme of things isn’t really far, though I do wonder too. I’m glad everyone got out ok, but it’s still sad to see that happen to that bird. She’s a lovely plane.
“Hope everyone is okay.”
_______________________
Really. Ejecting is no carnival ride.
Wait a minute. ‘Crash landed on the base Crew ejected safely’.
Can a plane with no crew be programmed to crash in the right place?
Doesn’t sound like much of a “landing” if the hull was a total loss. Sounds like a plain-vanilla “crash.” —Just maybe on the airport’s grounds.
So, was it a “crash” or a “landing”?
The B-1B landed on the airstrip, apparently. I was unable to determine the condition of the aircraft.
The “60 miles” refers to an incident with an F-35 where it crashed and was a total loss.
~~~
Oh yes. I remember that one now.
Wow! Thank you for the correction. My fault for the total lack of reading comprehension on a Friday morning.
The whole thing with the B-1B completely makes sense now. >.<
“Did the pilot panic???”
************
We’ll never know.
The government only tells us what they want us to know.
The Pilot and crew were running late to the briefing on the latest tranny policy update from the Biden administration.
Ellsworth is home to two squadrons of B-1 Lancer bombers.
There have been several B-1 bombers from Ellsworth that have crashed since they were first stationed at the base in 1987.
November 1988, a B-1 crashed on landing at the base. The crew ejected but were injured. Pilot error was reportedly the cause.
In September 1997, a B-1 crashed during a training mission in Montana, over the Powder River Training Range. Four people died in that crash. As with the 1988 crash, the Air Force determined pilot error was the cause.
December 2001, a B-1 crashed after taking off from the island Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The bomber was enroute to a combat mission over Afghanistan. The crew safely ejected and was picked up by a Navy ship. The cause of this crash was never determined or released.
August 2013, another bomber crashed in Montana at the training range. In this crash, the crew was able to safely eject.
Throughout the years, there have been numerous other serious incidents involving the bombers, including a mid-air collision between a B-1 and a refueling tanker in the early 1990s. Both planes were able to safely return to the base. Also, in September 2005, an Ellsworth B-1 landing at Andersen AFB, Guam, caught fire while taxiing and was severely damaged.
Good question. AFAIK the cause for the ejection has not been released yet.
There have been rare instances in the past of a fighter jet not being able to maintain altitude, but after the pilot ejected the aircraft became light enough to continue level flight for a ways.
That makes more sense.
But was the crew sufficiently diverse? Were there enough trans recruits with the right amount of melenin on board? That’s what really matters.
60 miles for a jet at usual speed would be about 40 seconds or so.
600 mph == 10 miles in 1 minute
It was no doubt a DEI crew. Genitalia and skin color trump skill and ability.
600 mph == 10 miles in 1 minute
~~~
If they were at cruising speed, perhaps, but they were attempting to land. That’s why, when I completely misread the article, I thought it was very odd that it flew another 60 miles. It didn’t. LOL. Different incident all together.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.