F-16 Aircraft Database

F-16 write-off number one. The aircraft was written off in a crash while on approach to Hill AFB, Utah. The pilot at the controls was a Belgian pilot on the OT&E team. The pilot had refueled and forgot to close the aerial refueling door. Therefore, he could not get gas from his external tanks, which were de-pressurized for the refueling. Worse, the B-model lowered flaps when refueling to provide increased clearance between the boom and the canopy. So he couldn't get external fuel (had two big external tanks) and if he slowed down the flaps extended. He had plenty of internal gas originally, but apparently failed to monitor the actual amount of internal fuel and suddenly the 'low fuel' light came on! His 'total' fuel was way up, but all the gas in the external tanks was unusable due to no pressurization. He had to manually select the tanks of interest, otherwise what you saw on the gauge was 'total' fuel. The pilot tries for Hill AFB and slows to best range speed, slow enough for the trailing flaps to come down and increasing drag/fuel consumption. The F-16 flames out on downwind and the pilot tries for a deadstick landing, unfortunately he couldn't make it and punches out really low. The now pilot-less plane actually made it to the runway overrun and pancakes but was a total lost.

Crashed in Nevada due to an engine problem. 78-0002 and 78-0006 were coming from Hill AFB to bring spare parts. The unit was on a TDY to Nellis at the time of the mishap. 78-0002 landed first and 78-0006 was second in line. The aircraft was on a normal landing approach. On touchdown the main landing gear collapsed. This was supposed to be impossible but it happened. Probable cause was that the gear was not fully down. The centerline fuel tank exploded on contact with the runway. The pilot selected full afterburner and managed to get the aircraft airborne again. The pilots logic would be that the entire ramp at Nellis was packed with aircraft and that he didn't want his disabled aircraft to slide off the runway and cause a major accident. The pilot climbed to approximately 500 feet, trailing about a 100 feet of flames, banked the aircraft left towards the desert, leveled out and ejected. There was a cheer from everyone who witnessed the accident when the pilots' chute opened. As an additional note: The Thunderbirds had been practicing just moments before the accident. Every practice is videotaped. They missed capturing the entire event on film by just a few moments. Also as a bit of irony: the spare parts were being carried by the aircraft that crashed.