Oops! "Accidental" discharge - $18+ million?

[The Heretic]

Mechanic ‘Accidentally’ Fires Vulcan Cannon & Obliterates F-16 Sitting on the Runway

The F-16, hit by the cannon fire, caught fire and exploded having recently been refuelled and made ready for a training sortie due to take place later that day

www.warhistoryonline.com

Read More

 

[clearconscience]

Oh Man! Can you imagine that MFers pucker factor after that!

He probably sat there for a good 10mins frozen in fear.

 

[a6m5]

If..... it doesn't hit a backstop, how far will those bullets fly?

 

[Fishonshawn]

Lol accidentally set it off...let's be real, he was sitting in the cockpit making gun and jet noises with his blow hole while messing with joystick acting like he was tom cruise in top gun and he pulled the trigger and got the shock of his life.

 

[Kruel J]

I've heard this story before even though its dated recently.

And it's BS. The weapons systems are locked out when it's sitting on the tarmac. Not only that but it's not as easy as just "squeezing the trigger".

Here's the same story from 2018.

Mechanic Accidentally Fires Cannon, Destroying F-16 on Ground in Belgium

A maintenance worker accidentally fired a 20mm Vulcan cannon from an F-16 jet at Belgium's Florennes Air Force Base.

www.military.com

 

[RangerArms]

Lol accidentally set it off...let's be real, he was sitting in the cockpit making gun and jet noises with his blow hole while messing with joystick acting like he was tom cruise in top gun and he pulled the trigger and got the shock of his life.

That could be any of us boys! Usually we can say no way that's just crazy but I can see myself in that seat!

 

[gmerkt]

.let's be real, he was sitting in the cockpit making gun and jet noises with his blow hole while messing with joystick

I don't think this idea is too far-fetched. Makes me wonder, do they leave the controls hot while the ship is still on the ramp? I'm thinking there may be two acts involved in this.

Costly mishap. I'll call it mishap until we hear an official "accident" version. I've heard of guys losing their rifle (usually stolen by fellow solders while they weren't looking) and having to pay for it. I suppose writing out a statement of charges for an F-16 would be futile, how would an individual ever be expected to pay for that?

While under arms in rear areas where lots of people were around, I never left my rifle out of my sight.

 

[Kruel J]

The WoW sensor would have to malfunction, the Falcon would have to be somewhat powered up along with the master arm switch being activated and a few other things. After all of that, the offending jet would have to be pointed directly at the other one.


It's baloney. A cover up job of some other embarrassing screw up.

 

[No_Regerts]

Lol accidentally set it off...let's be real, he was sitting in the cockpit making gun and jet noises with his blow hole while messing with joystick acting like he was tom cruise in top gun and he pulled the trigger and got the shock of his life.

 

[RangerArms]

Seems to be on a bunch of legit news sites.

 

[No_Regerts]

The WoW sensor would have to malfunction, the Falcon would have to be somewhat powered up along with the master arm switch being activated and a few other things. After all of that, the offending jet would have to be pointed directly at the other one.


It's baloney. A cover up job of some other embarrassing screw up.

So I can't launch a maverick while on the ground?

 

[Kruel J]

So I can't launch a maverick while on the ground?

I don't know, never tried it. But something's about to eat us for lunch!

 

[deadeye]

Mechanic ‘Accidentally’ Fires Vulcan Cannon & Obliterates F-16 Sitting on the Runway

The F-16, hit by the cannon fire, caught fire and exploded having recently been refuelled and made ready for a training sortie due to take place later that day

www.warhistoryonline.com

OLD story been posted somewhere on here before more than once.

 

[User 1234]

Yep. Someone disabled the Weight-On-Wheels switch which is designed to prevent exactly this.

 

[Tony617]

I thought with the F16 on the ground the weapons systems could not be activated at all? I know the F16 is older fighter plane so not really sure how the systems work.

 

[User 1234]

The WOW switch is designed to disable certain systems when the aircraft is sitting on the ground (weapons, landing gear retraction handle, etc.) It must be overridden when doing test fires on the ground. Someone didn't complete the checklist after the last test fire, which would have included restoring the WOW before moving the aircraft away from the test fire berm.

 

[revjen45]

I bet he had to whizz in the cup.

 

[tac]

Bizarre F-16's "ground-to-ground" kill injures two. It's the second accidental aerial weapon discharge in Europe this year.
A Belgian Air Force F-16 has been destroyed and another aircraft damaged when the M61A1 Vulcan 20mm cannon on board a third F-16 was accidentally fired on the ground by maintenance personnel at Florennes Air Base in the Walloon area of Southern Belgium on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018.

Multiple reports indicate that a mechanic servicing the parked aircraft accidentally fired the six-barreled 20mm Vulcan cannon at close range to two other parked F-16s. Photos show one F-16AM completely destroyed on the ground at Florennes. Two maintenance personnel were reported injured and treated at the scene in the bizarre accident.

In a nearby hangar, positioned at the extension of the flight line, a technician was working on an F-16. It is said that by accident the six-barrel 20mm Vulcan M61A-1 cannon of that F-16 was activated. Apparently, the cannon was loaded and some ammunition hit the FA128. This aircraft had just been refuelled and prepared together with another F-16 for an upcoming afternoon sortie. After impact of the 20mm bullets, FA128 exploded instantly and damaged two other F-16s.


Image credit: Tony Delvita

The airbase at Florennes is home to the Belgian 2nd Tactical Wing which comprises the 1st 'Stingers' Squadron and the 350th Squadron.

A report on F-16.net said that, "An F-16 (#FA-128) was completely destroyed while a second F-16 received collateral damage from the explosions. Two personnel were wounded and treated at the scene. Injuries sustained were mainly hearing related from the explosion."

The news report published late Friday went on to say, "The F-16 was parked near a hangar when it was accidentally fired upon from another F-16 undergoing routine ground maintenance. Several detonations were heard and thick black smoke was seen for miles around. Civilian firefighters have even been called in to help firefighters at the airbase to contain the incident. About thirty men were deployed on site and several ambulances were dispatched. The Aviation Safety Directorate (ASD) is currently investigating the exact cause."

The accident is quite weird: it's not clear why the technician was working on an armed aircraft that close to the flight line. Not even the type of inspection or work has been unveiled. For sure it must have been a check that activated the gun even though the aircraft was on the ground: the use of the onboard weapons (including the gun) is usually blocked by a fail-safe switch when the aircraft has the gear down with the purpose of preventing similar accidents.

https://twitter.com/ebcrew00
https://twitter.com/ebcrew00/status/1050418401603129346

Brand in Florennes ! [Brand = fire in flemish, although Florennes is in the french-speaking part of Belgium]

https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1050418401603129346

It is the second time this year an accidental discharge of live aircraft weapons has happened in Europe. On Aug. 7, 2018, a Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon accidentally launched an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) while on an air policing mission near Otepää in Valga County, southern Estonia. The incident occurred only 50km from the Russian border.

 

[Member 45541]

Oh Man! Can you imagine that MFers pucker factor after that!

Yep, you could've probably fed him some coal and he would have crapped you a diamond!

 

[Kruel J]

The picture of the destroyed Falcon doesn't add up either. Rounds from the Vulcan would have blown it into pieces, yet the plane looks basically intact besides having burned.

Yep. Like I said. BS.