The Aviationist: Video Emerges Of Marine Corps F-35B Crashing Into The Ground After Mid-Air Collision With KC-130J
As you probably already know by now, on Sept. 29, 2020, a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B and a KC-130J belonging to the VMGR-352 “Raiders” based at MCAS Miramar, were involved in a mid-air collision during AAR (Air-to-Air Refueling) operations.
The F-35B, callsign VOLT 93 crashed, while the KC-130J, callsign RAIDER 50, performed a safe crash landing on a field near Thermal Airport, California.
The single pilot aboard the STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant of the Lightning II stealth jet ejected safely and the Super Hercules crew members survived. The pretty intense audio of the incident was posted by a user at the LiveATC forum.
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Previous Post: Marine F-35B And KC-130J Collide And Crash In Southern California
WNU Editor: All crew members are reported to be OK.
Two aircraft ruined. One completely. Everyone grounded and at least one pilot's career destroyed.
ReplyDeleteHORS,
DE,
COMBAT,
R,
The expectations is that the pilot's career is ruined and maybe it should be.
ReplyDeleteBut is it the design's fault? Didn't someone say that the handling characteristics of the F 35 at slow speed was bad?
Maybe this is the plane you get given all the constraints imposed. A few more constraints and maybe the design problem would be intractable?
Believe me I would not hesitate to throw a pilot over the transom, but let us not be hasty.
Do we know what the operating characteristics or flight envelope are of the F 35 at that speed. Do we know it in relation to reaction time?
We do not know if the pilot hit the boom or rear ended the plane. What if the tanker was hit by a down draft? It has a black box too. We know next to nothing.