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F-16 Fighting Falcon News
Engine cracks blamed in F-16 crashes
July 12, 1999 (by
Lieven Dewitte) -
A special Air Force inspection program for a key component of F-16 jet engines failed to find cracks that led to two crashes this year, newly released reports found. The crashes in February and March were traced to the jets' afterburner.
In both cases, the afterburner assembly fell apart in flight. The Air Force was already keeping a close eye on the afterburners, which date to the 1980s, because of cracks that developed around spot welds in the metal. They recorded 13 incidents of serious afterburner cracks since 1984, but until this year the problem caused no crashes of the $20 million jet fighter.
In the March 26 crash, the afterburner had very recently passed a special inspection, but the device failed after the plane flew just 18 1/2 hours. The crash report, released last week, said a lab analysis revealed 30cracksin the afterburner wall. A similar report on the Feb. 3 crash noted 50 cracks. Both crashes involved student pilots at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. In both cases, fireballs engulfed the rear of the students' F-16s. The pilots ejected safely.
Since the crashes, the Air Force has asked Congress for $45 million for an emergency replacement program. Starting next year, the aging afterburners on 767 Pratt & Whitney engines would be replaced with a newer version that does not use welds, said Air Force spokesman Gary Emery. Congress has not yet acted on the request. In the meantime, the Air Force is using a fluorescent dye to highlight cracks that may not be visible otherwise, Emery said. The Air Force is also checking the afterburners more often -- after they have been fired 1, 000 times instead of 2, 000 times. Through mid-June, 712 engines had undergone the enhanced inspections, and the Air Force found 63 cases of cracked afterburners, Emery said. The Air Force has about 1, 450 F-16s, which are often praised as the safest single-engine jet the service has ever had.
A special Air Force inspection program for a key component of F-16 jet engines failed to find cracks that led to two crashes this year, newly released reports found. The crashes in February and March were traced to the jets' afterburner. In both cases, the afterburner assembly fell apart in flight. The Air Force was already keeping a close eye on the afterburners, which date to the 1980s, because of cracks that developed around spot welds in the metal. They recorded 13 incidents of serious afterburner cracks since 1984, but until this year the problem caused no crashes of the $20 million jet fighter.
In the March 26 crash, the afterburner had very recently passed a special inspection, but the device failed after the plane flew just 18 1/2 hours. The crash report, released last week, said a lab analysis revealed 30cracksin the afterburner wall. A similar report on the Feb. 3 crash noted 50 cracks. Both crashes involved student pilots at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. In both cases, fireballs engulfed the rear of the students' F-16s. The pilots ejected safely. Since the crashes, the Air Force has asked Congress for $45 million for an emergency replacement program. Starting next year, the aging afterburners on 767 Pratt & Whitney engines would be replaced with a newer version that does not use welds, said Air Force spokesman Gary Emery. Congress has not yet acted on the request.
In the meantime, the Air Force is using a fluorescent dye to highlight cracks that may not be visible otherwise, Emery said. The Air Force is also checking the afterburners more often -- after they have been fired 1, 000 times instead of2, 000 times. Through mid-June, 712 engines had undergone the enhanced inspections, and the Air Force found 63 cases of cracked afterburners, Emery said. The Air Force has about 1, 450 F-16s, which are often praised as the safest single-engine jet the service has ever had.
In the March 26 crash, the afterburner had very recently passed a special inspection, but the device failed after the plane flew just 18 1/2 hours. The crash report, released last week, said a lab analysis revealed 30cracksin the afterburner wall. A similar report on the Feb. 3 crash noted 50 cracks. Both crashes involved student pilots at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. In both cases, fireballs engulfed the rear of the students' F-16s. The pilots ejected safely.
Since the crashes, the Air Force has asked Congress for $45 million for an emergency replacement program. Starting next year, the aging afterburners on 767 Pratt & Whitney engines would be replaced with a newer version that does not use welds, said Air Force spokesman Gary Emery. Congress has not yet acted on the request. In the meantime, the Air Force is using a fluorescent dye to highlight cracks that may not be visible otherwise, Emery said. The Air Force is also checking the afterburners more often -- after they have been fired 1, 000 times instead of 2, 000 times. Through mid-June, 712 engines had undergone the enhanced inspections, and the Air Force found 63 cases of cracked afterburners, Emery said. The Air Force has about 1, 450 F-16s, which are often praised as the safest single-engine jet the service has ever had.
A special Air Force inspection program for a key component of F-16 jet engines failed to find cracks that led to two crashes this year, newly released reports found. The crashes in February and March were traced to the jets' afterburner. In both cases, the afterburner assembly fell apart in flight. The Air Force was already keeping a close eye on the afterburners, which date to the 1980s, because of cracks that developed around spot welds in the metal. They recorded 13 incidents of serious afterburner cracks since 1984, but until this year the problem caused no crashes of the $20 million jet fighter.
In the March 26 crash, the afterburner had very recently passed a special inspection, but the device failed after the plane flew just 18 1/2 hours. The crash report, released last week, said a lab analysis revealed 30cracksin the afterburner wall. A similar report on the Feb. 3 crash noted 50 cracks. Both crashes involved student pilots at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. In both cases, fireballs engulfed the rear of the students' F-16s. The pilots ejected safely. Since the crashes, the Air Force has asked Congress for $45 million for an emergency replacement program. Starting next year, the aging afterburners on 767 Pratt & Whitney engines would be replaced with a newer version that does not use welds, said Air Force spokesman Gary Emery. Congress has not yet acted on the request.
In the meantime, the Air Force is using a fluorescent dye to highlight cracks that may not be visible otherwise, Emery said. The Air Force is also checking the afterburners more often -- after they have been fired 1, 000 times instead of2, 000 times. Through mid-June, 712 engines had undergone the enhanced inspections, and the Air Force found 63 cases of cracked afterburners, Emery said. The Air Force has about 1, 450 F-16s, which are often praised as the safest single-engine jet the service has ever had.
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