Pilot error blamed in F-15 collision

[unhappycamper]

Collision at 14,000 feet
Report says grounding of fleet was not a factor


Pilot error blamed in F-15 collision
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Aug 25, 2008 16:00:49 EDT

Pilot errors led to the Feb. 20 mid-air collision of two F-15C Eagles over the Gulf of Mexico and the death of one of the pilots, an Air Force accident investigation board concluded in a report issued Monday.

Lost in the accident was 1st Lt. Ali Jivanjee, 26, of the 58th Fighter Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The other pilot, Capt. Tucker Hamilton of the 58th, safely ejected and was rescued from the gulf. He returned to flying within weeks of the accident. Today he is assigned as an air liaison officer working with the Army.

The two pilots were involved in a mock dog fight about 50 miles off Florida’s northwest coast when they collided, said investigation board president Brig. Gen. Joseph Reynes, an F-16 pilot currently assigned as Air Combat Command’s inspector general.

Rules for the engagement required the pilots to stay at least 1,000 feet from each other, Reynes said. But as they maneuvered for the best position, Hamilton failed to recognize that Jivanjee was on a collision course with his jet. Jivanjee lost sight of Hamilton’s jet for two seconds when his view of jet was blocked by a metal canopy support. When Jivanjee likely spotted Hamilton again, the jets were just two seconds from flying into each other at an altitude of 14,000 feet. The impact killed the lieutenant instantly.

The F-15C fleet was grounded from Nov. 2, 2007 to Jan. 10, 2008, following an Air National Guard mishap over Missouri.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/08/airforce_f15_crashreport_082508w/%2e

[ncteechur]

1. Was McCain flying again?

[texastoast]

2. Don't necessarily believe the "pilot error"

Lots of times, these electronic planes fail, many times because of wire chafing. The armed service is unwilling to blame the manufacturer, and pilot error is very convenient to keep the likes of Lockheed and General Dynamics out of a product liability suit. Not that there are many of them these days. The president is not the only one who owns a piece of the Supreme Court. The military-industrial complex has a big chunk too and called in a marker in the Harduvel v. General Dynamics case back in the Eighties.