[Rhodes22-list] No Joke: F/A-18F Super Hornet Mishap at Pensacola

[Brad Haslett]

Mike,

Interesting report!  I've been sideways in a jet before and 'it ain't no
fun'.  "There but for the grace of God go I".  If the anti-skid is working
it is almost idiot proof.  On the other hand, Ole Man Murphy lurks for all
of us who sail or fly.

Brad


On 12/5/06, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
>
> Brad,
>
> Tough landing - I don't know how long ago the airshow was but a friend
> just sent the pix to me today from
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobear410/sets/72157594401072103/detail/
>
> As I recall, those birds had anti-skid brakes.  I wonder if the problem
> was related to the tires or the braking system or even the pilot.  It is
> hard to tell from the shots exactly when the tires blew out.
>
> Mike
>
>
> "After performing the usual impressive Demo, the Super Hornet came in to
> land. Almost immediately upon touching down there was a loud "BANG" - he
> blew a tire. He got the jet slowed down and held it in the runway until the
> other tire gave way, then she broke loose. The back end came around, and you
> could see him fighting it and adjusting into it as much as possible, but
> things progressed and the plane spun around. He did almost a complete 360,
> then the tail end went off the runway and into thedirt. The stabs dug in,
> the nose lifted up, and for a moment things looked as if the jet would flip
> over backwards. Thank God it did not, and came to a stop directly in front
> of me. The aircrew got out quickly, and the jet remained there for the rest
> of the show.....Amazing. The pilot did an incredible job controlling the
> plane, keeping it in the runway as long as possible, and getting it slowed.
> Had it happened differently he actually could have spun off into the Blues
> line as his tire exploded right before he passed behind them. Thank God
> no-one was hurt and the plane appeared to have sustained only minimal
> damage."
>
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