Fighter Jet News
F-16 Fighting Falcon News
USAF jet scores truck kill in Las Vegas
October 21, 2008 (by
Lieven Dewitte) -
A US Air Force jet dropped a BDU-33 dummy bomb near the strip in Las Vegas, hitting a truck.
The 22 pound bomb fell from an aircraft flying over Nellis AFB at 11.30h on Wednesday morning. Somehow the device detached from the launch rack mechanism after which it fell 1,700 feet.
[Update: Although we first assumed it was an F-16 who dropped he load, it now appears to be an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft assigned to Nellis AFB.]
It first hit the tarmac near a mobility warehouse at the base itself before it bounced over a fence and penetrated the front of a civilian truck.
The driver of the truck escaped with nothing more than a bad fright.
A spokesperson for the Air Force did not know how the bomb became unattached, nor did they know whether pilot error was involved.
"We take this incident very seriously. The safety of our airmen and our neighbors here is of the utmost concern to us and we're very, very thankful no one was injured," Brig. Gen. Russell J. Handy, the 57th Wing commander, said.
The BDU-33 training bomb is used by F-15E, F-16 and A-10 air-to-ground fighter aircraft to simulate air-to-ground weapons and does not contain explosives. The device has a small smoke charge used to mark the impact point.
Investigators said the incident was probably not due to negligence on the part of the pilot, but was more likely the result of malfunctioning bomb racks or incorrect installation of the bombs.
The pilot can probably have a truck kill marking painted on his jet now.
It is not uncommon for practice bombs to fall off Air Force jets. In March for example, a BDU-33 fell from an F-16 over Tulsa, Okla., striking an apartment building.
An F-16 taxiing with BDU-33 practice bombs hanging under the TER
[Update: Although we first assumed it was an F-16 who dropped he load, it now appears to be an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft assigned to Nellis AFB.]
It first hit the tarmac near a mobility warehouse at the base itself before it bounced over a fence and penetrated the front of a civilian truck.
The driver of the truck escaped with nothing more than a bad fright.
A spokesperson for the Air Force did not know how the bomb became unattached, nor did they know whether pilot error was involved.
"We take this incident very seriously. The safety of our airmen and our neighbors here is of the utmost concern to us and we're very, very thankful no one was injured," Brig. Gen. Russell J. Handy, the 57th Wing commander, said.
The BDU-33 training bomb is used by F-15E, F-16 and A-10 air-to-ground fighter aircraft to simulate air-to-ground weapons and does not contain explosives. The device has a small smoke charge used to mark the impact point.
Investigators said the incident was probably not due to negligence on the part of the pilot, but was more likely the result of malfunctioning bomb racks or incorrect installation of the bombs.
The pilot can probably have a truck kill marking painted on his jet now.
It is not uncommon for practice bombs to fall off Air Force jets. In March for example, a BDU-33 fell from an F-16 over Tulsa, Okla., striking an apartment building.
Additional images:
BDU-33 training bombs on a TER under a HAF F-16 block 52. [Photo by John]
Related articles:
Forum discussion:
Tags
- nert bomb falls from F-16 on apartments (2008-03-15)
- Misawa F-16 drops concrete practice bomb on runway (2006-12-06)
- Practice bomb falls off Misawa F-16 into the ocean (2006-11-16)
- Bomb goes astray during NATO exercise (2003-11-14)
- F-16 Fighting Falcon news archive
Forum discussion:
- Training bomb strikes vehicle near Nellis ( 26 replies)
Tags