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AIR

DEADLY AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS DECLINED IN 2021, AIR FORCE SAYS

THE NUMBER OF LESS-DAMAGING ACCIDENTS, KNOWN AS CLASS B MISHAPS, BARELY BUDGED

By Rachel S. Cohen
Jan 31, 06:57 PM

Las Vegas police and military personnel respond to an airplane crash near Nellis
Air Force Base in Nevada on May 24, 2021, in Las Vegas. A contractor for Draken
US was killed in the accident. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

The Air Force saw a dip in fatal jet crashes and those that rendered aircraft
unusable in fiscal 2021, a win for aviation safety as the federal government
tries to bolster oversight of military mishaps.

Sixty-three of the most severe kinds of aviation accidents were reported last
year, down from 71 in fiscal 2020, according to mishap data provided to Air
Force Times Jan. 14.

The service curbed its deadliest, costliest incidents, known as Class A mishaps,
from 30 to 21. About 27 Class A mishaps have occurred on average in the past
five years, the Air Force Safety Center said.

Class A incidents cause death or permanent and total disability, destroy a U.S.
military aircraft, incur at least $2.5 million in damages, or result in some
combination of the three.

FLIGHT HOURS PLUNGED DURING COVID, BUT AIRCRAFT MISHAP RATES TICKED UP

AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF FOCUS ON AVIATION MISHAPS, THE AIR FORCE STILL HAS A LONG
WAY TO GO.

By Stephen Losey

Four people were killed in Air Force accidents between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept.
30, 2021, including one contractor pilot. That’s down from the seven fatal
crashes in fiscal 2020.

Eight aircraft were totaled: five Air Force drones, two manned airframes and a
contracted Dassault Mirage F1 jet flown by Draken US.

However, the number of less-damaging accidents barely budged. The service logged
one more Class B incident compared to 2020, 41 to 42. That’s the same as the
five-year average of 42 accidents.

Class B mishaps can cause a permanent and partial disability or lead to
inpatient hospitalization of at least three people or cost between $600,000 and
$2.5 million in repairs, .

Despite the slight downward trend, pilots spent less time in the air over the
past year, too, meaning aircraft crashed at about the same rate across 2020 and
2021.

Congress funded about 1.33 million flying hours in fiscal 2020, which fell to
1.24 million in 2021. The service sought another cut to 1.15 million flying
hours in fiscal 2022, though lawmakers have yet to pass this year’s defense
spending bill.

GUARDSMAN KILLED IN F-16C CRASH BECAME DISORIENTED, DISTRACTED, SAFETY REPORT
SAYS

CAPT. DURWOOD “HAWK” JONES, A FIGHTER PILOT WITH THE WISCONSIN AIR NATIONAL
GUARD’S 176TH FIGHTER SQUADRON, WENT DOWN IN MICHIGAN'S HIAWATHA NATIONAL FOREST
AROUND 7:15 P.M. ON DEC. 8, 2020.

By Rachel S. Cohen

The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan last year removed the need for
66,000 flying hours, Maj. Gen. James Peccia, the Air Force’s deputy assistant
budget secretary, told reporters at the fiscal 2022 budget rollout last May.

Another 22,000 hours on top of that were nixed, he said, because the Air Force
can’t use all the flight time it’s allocated and because the service believes it
can take the risk of flying less while not engaged in a major conflict.

It was a hectic year for American military jets, as they unsuccessfully tried to
hold off a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan while the U.S. bowed out of its
two-decade war there. Though August 2021 saw 11 Class A and B accidents, the
most in any month of the fiscal year, most appear unrelated to Afghan ops — a
sign of smart scheduling and maintenance amid the frantic evacuation.

The B-1 Lancer and F-22 Raptor logged the most accidents of any manned airframe
with eight apiece, followed by the KC-135R Stratotanker with six mishaps. The
MQ-9 Reaper drone saw seven accidents, the highest among unmanned aircraft and
second-highest of any Air Force platform last year.

Satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs shows a B-2 Spirit bomber next to the
runway at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, after it suffered an in-flight
malfunction and crash-landed shortly after midnight on Sept. 15, 2021. The photo
was taken at 8:24 am local time. (Courtesy of Planet Labs)

Engine and landing gear problems dogged the Air Force throughout the year,
particularly among the four most troubled airframes.

PILOT’S ERROR IN JUDGMENT CAUSED T-38 MISHAP IN FEBRUARY, INVESTIGATION FINDS

THE PILOT RELIED ON HIS GUT RATHER THAN DOUBLE-CHECKING HIS FLIGHT CONTROLS,
ACCORDING TO AN ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT.

By Rachel S. Cohen

The B-1 bombers, which were grounded for about two weeks last spring as the Air
Force investigated fuel system issues, wrestled with foreign object debris as
well. Half of the recorded mishaps involved FOD damage to engines, including one
in March 2021, when three of a Lancer’s engines sucked in debris as it prepared
for flight. Another bomber was impounded when its afterburner spit out multiple
engine blades after it was refueled with the engine still running.

In November 2020, maintainers found “significant internal damage” to one of
eight engines on a nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress bomber. More than 100
titanium blades were damaged, requiring the engine to be removed, the Air Force
said.

The mishap list revealed a previously undisclosed F-16C Fighting Falcon scare,
too. The jet ran into an unnamed structure while on the ground, destroying its
wing, after a flight in October 2020. The 149th Fighter Wing, an Air National
Guard Unit at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas, did not respond to a
query for further details.

Safety data also highlighted an undisclosed F-35A Lightning II struck by its
namesake last August, despite a ban on flying within 25 miles of a thunderstorm.
The jet was hit by lightning in midair, breaking the canopy and other parts. No
one was injured and the fighter safely returned to Nellis Air Force Base,
Nevada.

Some reports specified the repair bill: an FOD issue with an F-22 at Hill Air
Force Base, Utah, that led to $756,000 in property damage; blade damage on a
CV-22B Osprey at RAF Mildenhall in England that cost $840,000; and an F-16C with
a malfunctioning oil system that required a complete engine overhaul and
$869,000 in repairs.

DRAKEN F1 FLEET RETURNS TO FLIGHT AFTER FATAL CRASH AT NELLIS

“WE ARE CHECKING, DOUBLE-CHECKING AND TRIPLE-CHECKING EVERYTHING,” A DRAKEN
SPOKESPERSON SAID JULY 29.

By Rachel S. Cohen

A few events affected tiny fleets as well. One of only four training versions of
the U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane, known for its near-astronautic flight paths and
its role in the Cold War, suffered damage in multiple places on its left side
while practicing repetitive takeoffs and landings known as “touch-and-goes.” No
one was hurt in the “abrupt maneuver” in April 2021, the Air Force said.

In a more unusual accident, an A-10C Thunderbolt II on a strafing run at Eielson
Air Force Base, Alaska, mistakenly shot and destroyed a bridge on the training
range last June.

And on three occasions, birds were unpleasantly surprised when they collided
with F-15C Eagle and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets as well as a KC-135R. Each
incurred engine damage but landed safely, the Air Force said.

Federal accident investigators have yet to release more details on multiple
high-profile mishaps, including the May 24, 2021, crash that killed Draken US
pilot Nicholas Hamilton, 43, in Las Vegas, Nevada; a June 20, 2021, ground
impact that destroyed an MQ-9 in an undisclosed location; and a Sept. 14, 2021,
mishap where a B-2 Spirit bomber rolled off the runway at Whiteman Air Force
Base, Missouri.

The National Transportation Safety Board will likely release its final report on
Hamilton’s fatal F1 flight by May 2023.

About Rachel S. Cohen

Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Her work
has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the
Frederick News-Post (Md.), the Washington Post, and others.

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