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http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/SitoAM ... dente=1398
http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/SitoAM ... dente=1398

Reports and possibly photos of the fortunate Viper pilot.
(No, I can't read Italian either.)

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Gamera wrote:

http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/SitoAM/Default.asp?idnot=20355&idsez=2&idarg=&idente=1398
http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/SitoAM ... dente=1398

Reports and possibly photos of the fortunate Viper pilot.
(No, I can't read Italian either.)

The news says (mainly, my italian is a little rusty):

An aircraft F-16 of the Air Force, engaged in a training mission, went in hasty sea around to 20:00hrs of February 11/ 08. The communications with pilot, Maj. Maurizio De Angelis, have been interrupted while the aircraft was found, approximately 15 miles of the Airport of Birgi. The place of the incident, between Levanzo and Marettimo, was interested from one meteorological perturbation. From the testimony of the pilot it is emerged that in the immediately previous moments the incident a lightning has hit the F-16 aircraft. The same De Angelis has confirmed to have felt a strong roar and subsequently the aircraft was not more controlable. However it will be an inquiry, arranged with the Air Force, to assess the causes of the incident. Subsequently the pilot ejected.

Once in sea it has been located by the crew of a helicopter HH-3F of 82° the Center Combat Search and Rescue (C-SAR) of Bottoming drills, agency employee from 15° Flock C-SAR of Practice of Sea. Maj. De Angelis has been therefore recovered in sea from a motor patrol vessel of the Harbor Master's Office that has operated in continuous and tightened synergy with the crew of the helicopter. The pilot is in satisfactory physical conditions and has been discharged from the hospital where he is recovering. At the moment of the incident the aircraft was re-entering to the airport after a nocturnal training mission in which they were engaged by other F-16 fighters from Stormo. The been involved aircraft is in force to 18° the Group of Flight of 37° Stormo, of base on the military airport of Trapani Birgi . 37Stormo is one of the two units of the aerial defense that employ the F-16 fighters.

Homestead (HS) lost a jet just before I came to the 482 FW (1989) due to a lightning strike on or near the centerline tank. This started a fire and the pilot ejected while still over the Everglades, short of the runway.
I think it may have been 82-0954 16 Aug 1989 309 TFS because this is at the height of lightning season in Fl.

On the positive side the pilot got out ok.
We can always replace an aircraft.

A little off topic, a strike lightning can really shut down everything on the aircraft to the point of endangering the man and machine?

ACMIguy wrote:

I think it may have been 82-0954 16 Aug 1989 309 TFS because this is at the height of lightning season in Fl.

Yes, you were correct. I linked your serial to the database and updated it based on what you wrote. You had the serial and date exactly.

According to my limited knowledge/research about military aviation accidents in Japan over the decades, a lightning hit can shut down an engine, and the pilot may not restart it before he had to bail out.
The JASDF lost a few F-4 and F-104, this way. For example, on 1969.02.08, lightning hit a F-104J landing at Komatsu AB, and its pilot bailed out; it crashed into Kanazawa City, and caused civilian fatalities.

Or, worse, a lightning hit can detonate the fuel vapour in a partly empty (or partly full, depending on your attitude) fuel tank. A large aircraft, such as a JMSDF P2V or US-1, can survive a tip tank explosion, and RTB in a hurry.

*OFF-TOPIC ALERT*

Which reminds me of a blog article I recently read about the (infamous) JASDF T-33 crash in 1999 (which cut power lines in Dasaitama Prefecture, and caused power loss in most of Toukyou for hours), and (presumably) a Q&A session between JASDF IPs and student pilots.
The IPs' scenario: just after take off, the aircraft has an engine trouble; what will the student pilots do?
Fly to the closest mountain or sea and bail out? No height or time.
Restart the engine? No height or time.
Turn around and emergency land? No height or time.
Look for the biggest and closest empty farmland and crash-land? Almost.

The IPs' ideal answer: look for the biggest and closest empty farmland and crash-land... as vertically as possible, to minimise collateral damage to civilians.

Unfortunately, JASDF and even PLAAF pilots tend to comply with this creed, verbatim.
OTOH, more unfortunately, the US military pilots in Japan tend to neglect this creed.

Enthusiast Joined: Apr 09, 2005 Posts: 23 Status: Offline

First Royal Danish Air-Force F-16 loss tail E-175 was also lost in 1983 due to lightning strike. The crash investigation revealed that the lightning strike had ignited the fumes in the empty centerline tank and when the tank exploded it dameged parts of both hydraulic systems in the main gear wheel wells. The pilot continued his approach for a while until the hydraulic fluid depleted and he lost control and ejected.

F-16.net Editor Joined: Aug 23, 2003 Posts: 1716

Can anybody confirm if this was MM7264 (#81-0713) that crashed?

Elite 1K Joined: Jul 12, 2005 Posts: 1557 Status: Offline

Asif wrote:

Can anybody confirm if this was MM7264 (#81-0713) that crashed?

It was not that one, Asif!!

Greetings,

Henrik.

Enthusiast Joined: Nov 04, 2007 Posts: 40 Status: Offline

Some jets have a unique history. Looks like 81-0713 was one of them.

http://www.f-16.net/f-16_fighting_falco ... -1054.html

[quote]Lt. Commander Sam Carter was landing at Jacksonville IAP[/quote]

"Lt. Commander"? Is he an exchange pilot, or is his squadron an USN squadron?

[quote]It wasn't that one, Asif!![/quote]

Any independent evidence/proof?

Newbie Joined: Feb 16, 2008 Posts: 5 Status: Offline

tbarlow wrote:

Some jets have a unique history. Looks like 81-0713 was one of them.

thanks tbarlow, you right. But 72-64 is still flying... Wink

Enthusiast Joined: Feb 29, 2004 Posts: 40 Status: Offline

thanks, Mitchell, for correcting this site. Cool

F-16.net Editor Joined: Aug 23, 2003 Posts: 1716

MM7247 (#80-0604)

Serial database now corrected.

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Italian F-16 from 37 Stormo crashes into the sea