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| F/A-18 Has Suffered Brake Problems Since 1990 |
| 2005-08-04 |
| EFL:WASHINGTON (AP) - The front-line fighter jet of the Navy and Marines has suffered a series of recent accidents blamed on brake failure, exposing a problem that has spurred urgent warnings from commanders, military documents obtained by The Associated Press show. Brake problems affecting the F/A-18 Hornet pose "a severe hazard to Naval aviation" that could kill pilots and ruin valuable aircraft, a Navy air wing commander wrote last year after one of his jets roared off a runway and splashed into San Diego Bay, destroying the $30 million plane. Many of the brake failures have been traced to a $535 electrical cable - about as thin as a drinking straw - that controls the jet's antiskid brakes, the equivalent of antilock brakes on a passenger car. Investigators say the cable can chafe or break, since it runs close to where heavy tie-down chains secure the jets to a carrier deck. In the San Diego crash, Navy investigators cited "a trend of similar, if not identical, emergencies" that date to 1990 but went unnoticed until a series of failures last year, according to records the AP obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. One Navy pilot aborted a landing last fall when his brakes failed after a combat mission over Iraq. He took off again, circled the runway in Kuwait for a second landing attempt, then lowered his tailhook and caught the emergency arresting cable on the ground. He was not hurt and there was no damage to the jet. A month earlier, a Marine commander was seriously injured when he ejected after he lost his brakes landing on a short runway at Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Va. Other failures have occurred as recently as February. Making matters worse, some pilots did not know the proper procedures for brake emergencies and took actions that contributed to crashes, the records show. The Navy ordered fleetwide inspections last fall and is continuing to investigate whether it needs to redesign the Hornet's brakes, as some commanders have urged. "This matter is by no means closed," said Navy spokesman James Darcy. The maker of the jet, Boeing Co., deferred comment to the Navy. More at the link |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #5 How in the world did I miss this posting? I just posted the same darned thing. (So go ahead and kill Mine as duplicate if it shows up.) If the Navy is really doing everything they can about this (retraining aviators, training maintenance crews, doing frequent inspections, consulting with Boeing on fixes), then this is a problem, but it will be worked out. If they are sweeping it under the rug (which the MSM always assumes is the case, and unfortunately, really is the case maybe one in a hundred), then we have a problem. Darn. I wrote a bunch of comments on the copy I posted, but can't remember them now. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-08-04 23:25 |
| #4 Explains why they're so slow at Monnaco. Reminds me of Enzo Ferrari when somebody was dissing the brakes on his cars, "I build them to go fast, not to stop." Of course, Hornets are even cooler than Ferraris since they not only go fast but blow stuff up, besides. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-08-04 23:04 |
| #3 E/F Models unaffected from what I hear. All the more reason to trade out the old A's. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-08-04 22:04 |
| #2 Explains why they're so slow at Monnaco. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-04 16:05 |
| #1 Well, at least its not like a sudden unexplained loss of fly by wire control. Even better that it doesn't happen at 10 angels. |
| Posted by: Omiger Snaviting1691 2005-08-04 15:19 |