F-16 Fighting Falcon News

November 3, 2005 (by Bill Orndorff) - More than three years after its fuel tank over pressurized and ruptured, an Air Force F-16 is flying again, thanks in large part to technicians from the 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron and a decommissioned Navy F-16.
"The aircraft, assigned to the 301st Fighter Squadron at Carswell Joint Reserve Base, near Fort Worth, Texas, was being refueled in March 2002, when the aft fuel tank on the left side ruptured due to over-pressurization.

"The rupture blew out several aircraft panels and damaged ribs and the skin," said Master Sgt. Clint Wyrick, lead production superintendent for the 649th CLSS. "This isn't a common occurrence. There was a fuel manifold that was moving inside the tank. Pressure and fuel normally go down that manifold, and when it moved to the top of the tank, the volume was just too great and crushed the manifold. Once it occurred, there was no way for the fuel to transfer to the next tank and the A-1 fuel tank became over-pressurized, causing it to severely rupture."

After the damaged F-16 was taken to other repair facilities, it was determined that the 649th CLSS could fix it since the Airmen specialize in aircraft crash damage repair.

"Our wartime mission is to bring depot repair capability to the warfighters," said Master Sgt. Chad Brown, one of three 649th dock chiefs working on the project. "We do crash damage repairs that are beyond the limits of other units. We also do aircraft battle damage repair -- any aircraft that have been shot up, we patch them up and get them back into the war.

"We're the only active duty unit in the Air Force that does crash damage repair."

Once they received the aircraft in March 2004, the CLSS determined that the best course of action would be to replace the aft section instead of individual components, saving money and reducing repair time. They selected a Navy F-16 from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., as a donor aircraft to facilitate the repair.

"We split the aircraft from the 373 bulkhead (roughly the rear third of the jet)," Sergeant Wyrick said, "and took the same section off the AMARC aircraft and spliced them together to make one good aircraft."

The splicing took 17 months to complete and involved a lot of work. First, the Navy F-16 aft section had to be modified to comply with current specifications, even though they were produced in the same timeframe.

"We found a few Navy bulkheads that had to be repaired or changed to meet current standards," Sergeant Brown said. "Some bulkheads were cracked or had sustained damage. We also had to merge two fuel tanks and do other work related to fuel pressurization."

The work involved about 120 squadron members and cost about $1.5 million -- a bargain considering the F-16C, block 30 aircraft would cost $30 million to replace.

The finished aircraft was flight tested Aug. 25 and was found to be in Code 2 condition -- flyable, but with minor problems. After repairs, the aircraft flew Code 1. "Once it comes back in Code 1 condition -- no write ups - a final acceptance inspection will be performed by the 301st, then the aircraft will be painted and returned it to the unit by mid-October," Sergeant Wyrick said.

The rear of the Navy F-16 wasn't the only portion used by the CLSS -- the nose is being used to repair a Hill F-16.

"The Hill F-16 had gone through the depot line and it was being tested by the 514th Flight Test Squadron," Sergeant Brown said. "The nose gear inadvertently retracted as it went down the runway. When we tried to put the aircraft back together, the intake wouldn't line up. The whole front of the aircraft hit the runway so hard it bent.

"We took the front section of the Navy aircraft and spliced it onto the Air Force F-16. The front end work is harder because there are many wire harnesses to deal with."

"Useable parts have been removed from the damaged areas of all three aircraft, and the remaining carcasses will be turned into DRMO," Sergeant Brown said.