$200 mill crash an Alaska explained

The Air Force lost an F-35 in Alaska  in January at Eielson Air Base. An accident report is blaming ice in the landing gear for the crash.

“After initial takeoff, the MA’s [mishap aircraft’s] nose landing gear (NLG) did not retract properly due to hydraulic fluid contaminated with water that froze, preventing full strut extension and resulting in the NLG being canted to the left. After running initial checklists, the NLG was still turned approximately 17 degrees to the left,” the report’s executive summary explains. “The MP [mishap pilot] initiated a conference call with Lockheed Martin engineers through the on-duty supervisor of flying (SOF). The MA held for approximately 50 minutes while the team developed a plan of action.”

I am not a flier, nor did I say at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I have done a bit of time on two-wheeled stuff and I just have to assume landing with your nose wheel pointed off thataway almost 20 degrees cannot end well.

“The MP accomplished two touch-and-go landings attempting to recenter the NLG wheel. While both attempts failed to center the NLG wheel, the right main landing gear (MLG) strut and then left MLG strut did not fully extend after takeoff due to ice forming inside the strut,” it continues.

So the pilot tried twice to partially land and bounce the nose gear enough to try and break it loose and straight? To me that sounds like some very good pilot skills.

“After the second touch-and-go, all valid Weight on Wheels (WoW) sensors indicated the MA was on the ground, and the MA transitioned to the ‘on ground’ flight control law (i.e., automated ground-operation mode causing the MA to operate as though it was on the ground when flying). However, because it was actually airborne, the MA was uncontrollable. The pilot successfully ejected and emergency responders were at the scene within a minute.”

Planes have had automated landings for decades, you would think the failsafes would prevent the plane from deciding “yup, I’m on the ground” when it’s not?

The report separately notes that the F-35 flew upward after the pilot ejected and reached an altitude of 3,205 feet mean sea
level (MSL), or 2,665 feet above ground level (AGL), before it stalled and fell back to Earth. This helps explain the vertical descent seen in the viral video. The report says the aircraft was already pitched up 30 to 40 degrees, and was in a 38-degree bank to the left, when the pilot punched out.

“The accident investigation board (AIB) president found, by a preponderance of the evidence, the cause of the mishap was hydraulic fluid contaminated by water that froze in the NLG and MLG struts. The ice prevented the struts from full extension that led the WoW sensors to declare the MA was on the ground when it was airborne,” the report adds.

Alaska in January, ice forming – nothing unexpected here but the contamination.

“Additionally, the AIB president found, by a preponderance of the evidence, that crew decision making including those on the in-flight conference call, lack of oversight for the Hazardous Materials program, and lack of adherence to maintenance procedures for hydraulic servicing were substantially contributing factors.”  TWZ (formerly The War Zone)

Uh oh…$196,500,000 lost due to that last list of issues? The aircraft alone is over $110 million Expect heads to roll.

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Air Force