Belgian F-16's own goal.

[4mastacker]

Oh dear!!

Belgian F-16 NDs

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I think the Belgiques might want to take a look at their parked aircraft plan. It ought not to be possible for a live armed aircraft to be pointed at another parked aircraft, especially during maintenance.
I cannot recall any RAF Station where this was possible, and the Americans are even more religious about it.

[Boac]

I cannot recall any RAF Station where this was possible

- there was one, in history, possibly Gutersloh in Hunter days, when an unfortunate chap managed to loose off some rounds from a jet on jacks and the rounds hit the 'other' squadron's buidings, but injuring no-one.

OC 'other' squadron sent an immediate signal to OC 'firing' squadron which read

"If you continue firing at us I will be forced to return fire".

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I guess we learned from that. XI(F) operated from the Leeming flight line initially (as we were to be deployed in wartime), and I recall there were only certain slots that could be used for live armed aircraft, in order to avoid the problem. Some engineer bod had worked it all out. Visiting Aircraft slots were all at one end which was safe, as Leeming being a MEDA it could expect to receive live armed aircraft .

[Cacophonix]

Shades of the USS Forrestal fire that was triggered by a faulty circuit, bad operational practices, failure of safety protocols, unstable ordinance, a wayward Mk-32 "Zuni" rocket, bad luck and a huge amount of fuel, bombs and other things that go bang in the day and the night.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_USS_Forrestal_fire

Forrestal fire.JPG (68.43 KiB) Viewed 724 times

Caco

[ian16th]

"The two damaged F-16s were containing about 10,000 liters of fuel each, as they were about to take off"

I wonder what 'about to take off' means in jouno speak?

Pre-flight started?
Pre-flight done?
Pilot in a/c?
Engine/s started?

Just asking.

Wasn't there a case at Akrotiri of an unguided rocket went over the salt flats?

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I believe so, but that's why the live armed aircraft are put on Golf Dispersal pointed at the salt flats.
At which place, with a full Q fit aircraft, I had my skyflash missiles arm themselves whilst still on the ground. BAe said this wasn't possible, but we saw it happen. Then the jet caught fire on start-up. A very entertaining day.
BOAC may know more about the 'winder off the Harrier down in the Falklands.

[Boac]

"BOAC may know more about the 'winder off the Harrier down in the Falklands." - sorry - no knowledge. Was 'retiring' during the FI in April '82 and doing my ATPL at Kidlington with my Harrier kit packed in the boot of my car on '12 hours'. I recall a 43(F) 'Toom at Leuchars loosing off a missile on the ground which allegedly 'eagled' on the 14th a St Andrews.

[4mastacker]

I cannot recall any RAF Station where this was possible

- there was one, in history, possibly Gutersloh in Hunter days, when an unfortunate chap managed to loose off some rounds from a jet on jacks and the rounds hit the 'other' squadron's buidings, but injuring no-one...........

That event occurred not long before I arrived at Gutersloh. Sometime later the Avpin driptray under a II(AC) Sqn Hunter caught fire due to a spark from an electrical malfunction. Some of my colleagues who were at Gut when the first event happened reckoned it was the same aircraft (WW593) on both occasions. The aircraft ended up as an airfield decoy with an anhedral a bit more than Mr Camm intended.

I recall a 43(F) 'Toom at Leuchars loosing off a missile on the ground which allegedly 'eagled' on the 14th a St Andrews.

T'was a Tremblers jet. A station exercise had been called and the aircraft were being armed up. It had been pi$$ing it down and I believe the ingress of rainwater into the umbilical plugs caused a short circuit. I was on the BFI next to the 'Q' sheds checking the fuel levels in the tanks when the thing went walkabout. Talk about a 'WTF' moment!! Nearly sh@t meself. The missile ploughed a furrow across the airfield and ended up on the bank of the River Eden near to Missile City where it sat all forlorn for sometime whilst the powers-that-be decided what to do with it. There is a poster over on Arrse who was on the actual load team when the mis-fire happened - he has an interesting tale to tell.

I believe the missile in a bunker at St A's was a Firestreak from a Javelin.. or so the story goes.

[Boac]

4mast - excellent - thanks for tidying up the brain farts.

[izod tester]

The winder off the Harrier at Stanley was the result of a poor location for the jettison switch which was low down in the cockpit during the rapid modification to fit sidewinder to the Harrier GR just prior to their deployment. It proved possible to knock the switch with the leg whilst getting into the cockpit and it’s position was not included into pre take-off checks. The sidewinder jettison (unguided firing off the rails), operated when the weight came off the wheels during take-off. Unfortunately, some guardsmen who had been helping clear snow from the runway and who had moved to the edge of the runway prior to the Harrier taking off were hit by the missile. I saw it happen from about 80 yards away.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Thanks Izod and 4ma.
I wonder if there's any incident in the last 50 years that didn't have one of us standing 80 yards away. One of the joys of having an eclectic collection of very experienced people.

[CharlieOneSix]

This incident happened after I had left the RN and was told to me many years later by third parties so I hope the details are correct. However I know the gentleman concerned as in later life he was one of our pilots engaged in North Sea oil support operations. At the time of this incident he was flying a Wessex Mk5 helicopter in the Commando role on exercise from a ship in the Mediterranean and had 2 inch rocket pods fitted with a few rockets that fortunately had dummy warheads. I know nothing of these things being a former anti-submarine role guy.

He was apparently arsing around off the coast of Cyprus and by mistake fired the rockets. The story goes that one landed in the garden of the Governor of Cyprus. He was hosting a garden party at the time. Our friend was duly court martialled.

His conduct didn’t improve in the civvie world and he was on his second verbal warning from me before he decided to plague some other poor Chief Pilot with his presence.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

More on the Belgian accident here, with pictures of the wreckage.

https://theaviationist.com/?p=62176

The location appears to be the standard parking spot, which has four jets on it in the Google maps satellite view. It seems to be the right hand end two which were hit.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Floren ... 051131[url][/url]

I think the building at the far southwestern end of the pan is the Q shed (50.2344408,4.6565651). My best guess, judging from the alignment, is that it was a Q jet that was being worked on. The way they have things set up, this would fire across the pan.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I would guess they were working on an armed Q jet without unloading it, against SOPs, in order not to have to take it off Alert status.

[Boac]

At least it proves the damn thing works!

Put that in yer pipe and smoke it, Vlad.

[Undried Plum]

Given the nature of enfilading fire, they were lucky that there were only two aircraft in the line of fire.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I was told that someone commented
"Well, I guess we don't need to see the film" after the Phantom shot down the Jag in Germany