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15-03-2013, 23:27
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חבר מתאריך: 13.11.04
הודעות: 16,823
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אחרי שנתיים - סיפור חילוץ הצוות הנוטש ותחקיר התאונה
Strike Eagle Rescue
http://www.airforce-magazine.com/Ma.../0313eagle.aspx
The event started in the routine but careful preparation for a two-ship sortie of Strike Eagles from 492nd Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, UK, on the afternoon of March 21, 2011. It was the third day of air operations in the effort to protect the opposition from Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi's troops. The squadron's aircraft had deployed to Aviano AB, Italy, for Odyssey Dawn as part of the air campaign. The No. 2 aircraft for the mission, call sign Bolar 34, had Maj. Kenneth Harney as its pilot with Capt. Tyler Stark in the backseat as the weapon systems officer (WSO). Harney was rated as an "experienced" F-15E pilot with 1,469 hours in the Strike Eagle, 661 of them as a pilot and the remainder as WSO. He had flown combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Stark was a novice aircrew member with 185 total hours, 167.7 as an F-15E WSO.
he Strike Eagle was heavily loaded for a long-endurance mission with air-to-air and ground-attack capability. In addition to its internal fuel, Bolar 34 carried two 610-gallon external fuel tanks under its wings and two 750-gal*lon conformal tanks nestled against the fuselage. It was armed with two AIM-9 Sidewinders and two AIM- 120 AMRAAM anti-air missiles. It carried three GBU-38s (500-pound GPS guided Joint Direct Attack Munition bombs) on left wing stations, and four GBU-12s (500-pound laser guided bombs) under the right wing. The fighter also carried a 20 mm rapid fire cannon with 500 rounds in the right side of the fuselage. The official Air Force accident report noted the F-l5Eis "inherently right wing heavy" because of the gun—a factor in the subsequent accident. The fighter also had LANT1RN navigation and Sniper targeting pods for the night-time preci*sion strike mission.
At 10:27 p.m., Bolar 34 launched a JDAM against the target. The JDAM came off a left wing station. That added to the Strike Eagle's weight imbalance, or "lateral asymmetry."
The F-15E's gun is on the right; the tank-feed anomaly meant Bolar 34 still had extra fuel in the right side external tank; and four bombs remained under the right wing. After weapon release, Harney started a descending right turn with 100-degree bank and 330 knots (380 mph) airspeed at military power—full throttle without afterburner. About 90 degrees through the turn, the aircraft nose dropped unexpectedly. Harney released stick pressure to reduce aerodynamic forces, but the accident report stated that the fighter "departed controlled flight" and went into a left spin.
Harney attempted the normal spin recovery procedures to no effect and at 10:28 told his flight lead that "two's in a spin" and radioed, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday," the international air distress signal. With the spin accelerating as the Strike Eagle approached the recom*mended uncontrolled flight minimum altitude, Harney told Stark to bail out and initiated ejection at an observed altitude of 5,715 feet, the accident report said.
Kearsarge was part of an amphibious ready group. The ARG operated with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, an integrated air-ground force equipped with AV-8B Harrier short takeoff and vertical landing attack jets, helicopters, tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys, and a Marine battalion landing team. The aircraft were assigned to Ma*rine Medium Tilt-rotor Squadron 266 Reinforced, and the ground marines were from 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, both based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Kearsarge ARG and the 26th MEU had been deployed since August, and had moved into the Mediterranean first in response to the uprising in Egypt and then to support Odyssey Dawn
צוות החילוץ ממריא
Grunke and his wingman took off first, clearing Kearsarge '5 flight deck for two Ospreys and a pair of CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters. Each MV-22 carried 15 reconnaissance marines to help in the pilot rescue, and the helos took 35 marines each as a backup force. The Harriers were airborne first, and the Ospreys took off about 30 minutes later.
חילוץ אחד הטייסים
Within minutes of being on station, Grunke said he used his targeting pod to spot the approaching vehicles and told Harney that he had two 500-pound bombs. "Do you need them?" The Air Force pilot replied "Yes, yes I do:' Grunke recalled. As he was maneuver*ing to drop a bomb, Harney came back on the radio and said: "Tell my wife I love her." Grunke said he replied, "Don't worry, I'm going to have a bomb on the deck in one minute." The Harrier pilot released a laser guided bomb and directed it to hit between the downed pilot and an ap*proaching vehicle. When another vehi*cle continued moving toward Harney' s position, Grunke dropped another bomb in front of it as well. He also selected a possible landing site for the TRAP package coming behind him.
הטייס השני חבר בניגוד לנוהל למקומיים, שלמזלו הרב אהדו את המרד
Although Stark did not follow SERE procedure, he was fortunate the Liby*ans who found him were anti-Qaddafi rebels. In the USAF-CNN video, Stark recalled that he saw two vehicles approaching and someone called out to him. "I hear the voice a little bit closer, 'American, come out, we are here to help," he related. "I get up and put my hands up and start walking to the voice. ... Once I get there my impression is, 'OK, you have to assume that they are the bad guys,' so I approach them thinking 'OK, I am caught. This is really not good. This is not where I want to be.' And they said, 'Hey, we are here to help." Stark was driven to a nearby build*ing, still very much on his guard, but when he walked into the room he got a round of applause, he said. Stark was taken to a Benghazi hotel and cared for until he was returned to US forces
The official accident report found that the loss of controlled flight was due to the weight imbalance on the Strike Eagle's right side and the fact that Harney performed an approved combat maneuver—but at an untested altitude above 30,000 feet. The acci*dent board said, "Ambiguous F-15E technical order guidance concerning maneuvering limitations with aircraft lateral asymmetry" contributed to the accident. Although maneuvering with lateral imbalance was considered acceptable at moderate angles of attack, the flight simulator tests the board conducted showed that "an asymmetrically loaded F- 15E flying at high altitude is prone to depart controlled flight and enter an unrecoverable spin" at that angle of attack. The board said the pilot was not at fault, but added, "Evidence suggests that the [crew] was overconfident in the maneuvering capabilities of the F-15E. |
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