Mick4350 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Today at Amberley Air Base there was an incident involving a F-18 Super Hornet where both crew ejected from their aircraft when they tried to attempt a take off from the runway. The crew made it out safely, but the unmanned aircraft lumbered down the runway to run off the end and crash with its nose wheel collapsing when it stopped. It's too early to say what happened. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Looked like the nose wheel went down some sort of hole rater than collapsing? https://www.facebook.com/tpememes/videos/1024404964700582 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick4350 Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 More on the ABC News website https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-08/super-hornet-crash-raaf-amberley-air-base/12962426 . The aircraft ended up in a ditch along the runway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Expensive, but I'm very happy to hear both of the crew got out in one piece. Chris. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSG0 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Glad the crew are ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Yes Happy they got out, they might feel a bit silly seeing the aircraft rolling along but im sure they had a reason to punch out. Better to be alive and feel a bit silly than to be brave an ride it in to a fatal. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 WSO: "Mate, I'm not happy with the takeoff, we should reject." Pilot: "EJECT? Righto!" [pulls eject handle] 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 3 hours ago, Alan P said: WSO: "Mate, I'm not happy with the takeoff, we should reject." Pilot: "EJECT? Righto!" [pulls eject handle] Allegedly back in the eighties or nineties a Tornado pilot had a near miss with another jet. He apparently said F**k or F that or whatever. The Nav duly command ejected both of them. 😔 The fact that the F18 survived the incident probably won't be held against the crew. Somewhere on YouTube there's a USAF video emphasising that far too many aircrew died trying to retrieve a situation when there was plenty of time to eject. I suspect the RAAF offers similar advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephLalor Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 3 hours ago, noelh said: The fact that the F18 survived the incident probably won't be held against the crew. Somewhere on YouTube there's a USAF video emphasising that far too many aircrew died trying to retrieve a situation when there was plenty of time to eject. I suspect the RAAF offers similar advice. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Happy to know they're both healthy and walked away pretty much in one piece. I’m amazed at just how much smoke staining around the cockpit from the ejection there was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSG0 Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 4 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Happy to know they're both healthy and walked away pretty much in one piece. I’m amazed at just how much smoke staining around the cockpit from the ejection there was. I only say this because we know that the crew is okay. This could make an interesting diorama? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 8 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Happy to know they're both healthy and walked away pretty much in one piece. I’m amazed at just how much smoke staining around the cockpit from the ejection there was. Full burn on the seat due to the altitude maybe? The millisecond that handle is pulled the seat pretty much knows everything and works accordingly. A testament to how far MB have come. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick4350 Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 Apparently when this occurred yesterday at 2.30pm, there was another three Super Hornets waiting to take off after this one on the runway. Now 35 aircraft are grounded until they can figure out whats wrong with the fleet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Wonder if its a FOD thing ? I wonder if they started to take off and one or both of the engine(s) ingested something. The crew could’ve decided it was better to punch out rather than risk the roll out. Possibly before the engine ate it self or maybe they didnt have enough runway left to stop the jet in time ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Both engines lost power on take off (i.e stopped), one witness on the fence after the aircraft had rolled to a stop mentioned the smell of fuel so it could have been some sort of fuel leak. Looks like the aircraft will be repaired as well. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 How is the teack record of Australian Superhornets? 36 in all, no? I have the feeling that they are either used a lot, or .... engine issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slater Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 I was under the impression that the F414 engine was reasonably trouble free? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificmustang Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 15 hours ago, exdraken said: How is the teack record of Australian Superhornets? 36 in all, no? I have the feeling that they are either used a lot, or .... engine issues? Well, we've had them for ten years now, and only lost one through an engine fire whilst in the US, and this one which should be returned to service. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweeky Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 (edited) On 12/9/2020 at 1:18 AM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: I’m amazed at just how much smoke staining around the cockpit from the ejection there was. Rocket motors from modern a zero zero seat, The Tornado also had a rocket type motor as part of the canopy jettison system so may be the F18's has something akin to this. To effect both engines it has to be fuel related or a multiple bird strikes on both engines Edited December 11, 2020 by tweeky additional info 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairystick Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 On 12/9/2020 at 10:26 AM, noelh said: Somewhere on YouTube there's a USAF video emphasising that far too many aircrew died trying to retrieve a situation when there was plenty of time to eject. The systems and sensors on modern seats are remarkable compared to older versions. The modern seat will compensate a large amount of thrust to send the seat vertically - even when ejecting horizontally. It really wants to go upwards! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blimpyboy Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Here's a write-up of the incident, from the 02 2022 edition of the ADF's Spotlight aviation safety publication (pages 16-21). https://defence.gov.au/DASP/Docs/Media/Spotlight/Spotlight0222-Investigation.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nachtwulf Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 On 12/29/2022 at 8:25 PM, Blimpyboy said: Here's a write-up of the incident, from the 02 2022 edition of the ADF's Spotlight aviation safety publication (pages 16-21). https://defence.gov.au/DASP/Docs/Media/Spotlight/Spotlight0222-Investigation.pdf That might be one of the best incident right ups I've read. Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now