This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:10 pm
Received in an e-mail forwarded about 358 times... I cannot vouch for the validity of this and consider it hearsay only.
I had coffee with XXXXXX the other day and he told us about
> the F-18. XXXX is flying for the Air Combat operation out of Fullerton
> and is a former F-18 pilot. The fellow who heads up the Fullerton
> operation is the father of the pilot involved in the crash.
The story is
> he lost the first engine while doing Carrier op's off the coast. Since
> he was fairly new to the airplane they decided to send him to North
> Island. [1st question for Board]
On approach to North Island they decided that he had enough
> fuel and told him to bring it into Miramar where they had better
> maintenance. [2nd question for Board]
They told him to keep it dirty because they didn't want to
> overwork the remaining hydraulic pump. On final the second engine
> overheated and rolled down. Apparently the engine has some type of
> overheat protection and will just shutdown. [3rd question for Board; who didn't knew this?]
He rode it down to 400-600 feet and ejected.
Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:59 am
BDK, thanks for posting that, it seems like a logical explanation, but may be BS. In hindsight, it is a shame they did not go to North Island NAS, right at the coast Somebody's decision to fly across heavily populated areas to get back to better maintenance cost lives. That husband is more sad than bitter, I don't think I could lose my family and not feel bitter. I wonder if they had planned for this eventuality and what the objective was. I would not be surprised if there was a mindset that, "Hey we are in a modern jet, both engines won't fail, loss of one really isn't a full emergency". I also wonder how open the investigation will be and how high the blame will go. I doubt if the pilot made that decision alone. Of course this letter may not be the facts in any case.
Tue Mar 03, 2009 8:38 pm
Update ... the actual comm recording link is at the bottom of the article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090303/ap_ ... _jet_crash
Wade