The Basket
Senior Master Sergeant
- 3,712
- Jun 27, 2007
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Somebody did not do a Lock-Out Tag-Out. Just plain carelessness.
I believe the F-16 has a lockout that's engaged when the gear is extended...perhapsAgreed, but that still should not negate a WOW switch (if the F-16 armament system works through those).
I believe the F-16 has a lockout that's engaged when the gear is extended...perhapsBiffF15 might have better details, but going back to a maintenance guy working on a live aircraft, how was that even permitted?
And even then, the discharge of the cannon cannot be "accidental", it has to be switched on and the trigger depressed...you don't just "bump" something and it goes off like that.
Sounds like WAY to many safety lock outs and procedures were overlooked for this to happen. And then hitting another A/C that just happened to be in the way of the gun....yeh ,right.The Eagle has a weight on wheels switch as wel (it will fire the gun with the gear down until the aircraft lands and gets the wow switch compressed). There are several things tied into the wow switch, not just the gun. However the guns, along with other weapons systems have a need to be tested on the ground. With that in mind MX has to have the ability to do those tests, which requires a ground over ride. The Eagle had that switch, a lift to lock, in the cockpit. I have no idea where the Viper has theirs. All combat aircraft I would assume have this as all will need to test ordinance firing capabilities.
In addition to the cockpit mounted switch for over ride, the master arm switch must be on, and the safety pins pulled from the gun, along with another handle on the gun released if I remember correctly. The gun can be allowed to spin (it's a Gatling set up), and if not fully armed will not fire (safety pin still holding the breech back?). I have had this happen. Weapons system must also be out of the training mode. Lots of safety measures had to be removed for an Eagle to fire on the ground or in the air. Also would need to have part of the hydraulic system operating as that was required to spin the barrels, as well as DC electrics. I would assume the Viper is very similar since it's the same gun.
Once those safety checks are removed, (pins pulled, master arm to hot, weight on wheels off or over ride selected, hydraulic and DC power), pulling on the trigger will cause it to fire regardless of which weapons are in priority (USAF jets only).
Cheers,
Biff
Sounds like WAY to many safety lock outs and procedures were overlooked for this to happen. And then hitting another A/C that just happened to be in the way of the gun....yeh ,right.
Am I wrong in my assumptions?
No you are not. However, I don't know where the jet was. If in a combat arena, at least on the Eagle, we put the breech area safety pins in place from the outside of the aircraft (where the pin and a streamer would be visible). If not flying a sortie where the gun was to be fired the pin was installed from inside the aircraft and a door was left open or the bottom of the pin was visible from the ground during the walk around. Been over a decade and several aircraft ago, so I will have to call a bud for a refresher.
During alert status or when flying a combat sortie the jet can be armed quite easily as I think only the breech pin was installed and was pulled during engine start on a scramble or by the End of a Runway (EOR) crew during last checks before takeoff.
Regardless of all the above, you did NOT point your armed jet at other jets or people unless required for taxi out or in. And, you NEVER pulled the trigger unless airborne and not pointed at anything you valued. We would do a trigger check on every training sortie prior to fighting to insure the gun was truly safe.
Safety steps were most likely missed (as compared to my knowledge of USAF procedures).
Cheers,
Biff
Are those the red streamers you usually see hanging off the various parts and weapons in pixs?If in a combat arena, at least on the Eagle, we put the breech area safety pins in place from the outside of the aircraft (where the pin and a streamer would be visible).
So I'm not the only one.Thanks for weighing in, Biff.
I'm not overly versed in modern combat component procedure aboard these ships, but something doesn't seem to add up.
And I keep reading the details about the incident and certain things stand out, like the fully armed F-16 was in a hangar, for instance.
I know that Belgium has been going through a considerable amount civil turmoil recently and this has me wondering if it may be a case of poor vetting and security.