Australia's fleet of F-111 bombers has been temporarily grounded after one of the jets was forced to make an emergency landing when one of its main wheels fell off.
The jet's 29-year-old pilot had only recently graduated from an F-111 course, but managed to bring the crippled plane down safely on its belly at Amberley air base, west of Brisbane.
The pilot and his 26-year-old navigator circled for about three hours to use up fuel while emergency landing options were tested in a simulator. The plane touched down safely just after 2:00pm AEST, using arresting wires strung across the runway to rapidly slow it down.
Witness, Graham Porter, saw the drama unfold. "You could see the smoke rising from when it made contact with the ground," he said.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has praised the jet's crew and says the entire F-111 fleet will be inspected.
"They will be temporarily grounded for reasons that most Australians would understand," Dr Nelson said. "But on behalf of the Australian Government and the Australian community, I particularly express my admiration and my gratitude for the professionalism of all those concerned in seeing that what could have been a disaster involving the aircrew and the aircraft has been averted."
Group Captain Leo Davies says there will be a full investigation. "Operating an aeroplane that is as complicated and leading edge as the F-111 is of course, things will go wrong from time to time," he said. He says "the pilot and navigator will soon be back in the air."
F-111s to be investigated after accident By Kevin Meade and Mark Dodd July 19, 2006.
THE rookie pilot of a stricken F-111 fighter-bomber yesterday executed a spectacular but perfect bellylanding to end a tense, four-hour emergency in the skies above southeast Queensland.
The nation's ageing fleet of 26 F-111s was grounded after the two-man crew was forced to touch down without landing gear at the Royal Australian Air Force base at Amberley, west of Brisbane, about 2.10pm (AEST).
Unhurt, the pilot, who graduated from fighter school only two weeks ago, and his more experienced navigator ran from the plane as a fire truck raced in to douse it with foam.
The left wheel of the supersonic jet fell off after take-off on a routine flight to Tenterfield in northern NSW.
The plane circled over Brisbane and Moreton Bay for four hours, burning off fuel to lighten the load and minimise the possibility of an explosion on landing.
On the ground, an arrestor cable, similar to those used on aircraft carriers, was laid across the Amberley runway. As the jet approached, it deployed a hook that picked up the cable and brought the jet to a halt.
Earlier, a support aircraft inspected the damage from the air while a 10-nautical-mile exclusion zone was declared above Amberley. Non-essential staff were evacuated from the base and emergency fire and ambulance crews placed on stand-by.
The nearby Cunningham Highway was closed.
After two practice runs, the crew executed what experts described as a perfect bellylanding - the first ever by an RAAF F-111 during its 30-year flying history.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson and air force chiefs praised the bravery and precision of the 29-year-old pilot and 32-year-old navigator, whose names had not been released last night.
"This was one of our most junior F-111 pilots - he only graduated a couple of weeks ago from the basic conversion course," airforce chief Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd said.
"He was currently doing his operational upgrade and flying with one of our most experienced F-111 navigators."
Air Marshal Shepherd said an initial assessment had revealed no structural damage to the aircraft, but there were still no clues as to why the wheel fell off, also a first for an F-111.
"That's an occasion without precedence in 34 years of flying the F-111 in the RAAF," he said.
"What happened was on take-off and it was the lead aircraft in a pair of F-111s doing training.
"When he retracted the undercarriage ... the left main wheel fell off. It (the aircraft) was full of fuel. He had many hours, of course, to orbit to work the issue and be in contact with all the experts on the ground."
Air Marshal Shepherd said the F-111 simulator at Amberley was used to determine the best way to land the fighter.
Group Captain Leo Davies said the jet had enough fuel to fly another hour. "There were more anxious moments from those on the ground, because they weren't in control," he said.
Group Captain Davies said the crew "weren't overly stressed" but "mentally fatigued" after their emergency landing.
Dr Nelson said the grounding of the F-111 fleet to carry out undercarriage checks would be temporary. The bomber at the centre of yesterday's drama was expected to return to service.
He said the F-111 remained an important aircraft for Australia's defence capability and that checks on the remaining fleet were not expected to take long.
"One thing is for sure, they won't be all flying until we are 100 per cent satisfied," he said.
He said the incident did not change the Federal Government's long-term plans for the F-111 and its replacement, the Joint Strike Fighter.
Eight F-111s have crashed since they began operating in Australia in the 1970s, killing 10 crew.
Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 19, 2006 12:05:25 GMT 12
It was certainly spectacular, they played the landing on TV One news last night, but in their usual fashion (being NZ's worst news agency in my opinion) they cut the story off at the very point where he touched down so you never even got to see it come to a halt nor close ups of damage.
Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 19, 2006 13:57:59 GMT 12
Or a link to it here for those who cannot get Photobucket videos to work (like me!)
This poor quality video (same as Corsair has posted) is different from the piece shown on One News last night, which was more professional, steady and taken from the opposite side of the airfield
Anyone else laugh when One News said the F-111 'will be replaced in four years time'? ;D I'll believe the JSF will be in the RAAF by 2010 when I see it.
Last Edit: Jul 19, 2006 22:50:25 GMT 12 by mumbles
Don't laugh Sam: the initial suggestion from Defence was to retire the F-111 fleet between 2008 and 2010!
It's bad enough knowing that certain members of the Dept of Defence and RAAF think that an upgraded F/A-18A Hornet can cover the gap in defence capability created between the retirement of the F-111 in 2012 and the arrival of the first F-35 Lightnings.......whenever.
Post by planeimages on Jul 20, 2006 19:43:28 GMT 12
I won't be naive and suggest that it has taken a long time for the "wheels to fall off the F-111 program'! I saw the video on last night's TV recap. The tail hook (included in the design because the F-111 (TFX) was intended to have carrier-borne capability) was extended and caught the trap wire Iwhich had been installed at Amberley for just this purpose. (When the RAAF operated F-111s from Butterworth in Malaysia traps were also installed). I further understand that F-111s may not land at aerodromes where these are not installed. This restriction may also be due to the very high-pressure tyres fitted as a legacy of the US Navy's specifications. The maximum design sink rate for the undercarriage is 1500ft/min.
I saw one RAAF machine do a very low pass at Temora NSW on the Friday before the June Queen's Birthday weekend... Quite a stir for the members of TAM's flying circus, many of whom were bulding time in their respective and rather more sedate aeroplanes.
At the instant of contact at Amberely the hook flew up to a parallel position and started to slow the aircraft. This bought the aircraft smartly into contact with the tarmac with a considerable jolt and this appears to be the only discomfort experienced by the crew.
The trap not only slowed the A/C but kept it straight.
The RAAF worked several scenarios through the simulator while the crew of the F-111 loitered.
It would appear that the eventual course of action was deemed to be superior. Judgement vindicated!
Scuttlebut (from a man who was involved in the design and manufature of components of the arrestor wire system at Amberley) suggests that employment of the F-111's unique "escape capsule" is not always satisfactory. Occupants are exposed to the risk of spinal damage either due to the rocket-blast which separates the cockpit from the rest of the airframe or the rate of descent and subsequent high-G decelerations on landing).
There have been at least three such deployments in RAAF F-111s and only one was successful in saving the lives of the crew. The term "operating beyond its design parameters" is a euphamism to describe that the system failed to work as intended.
The use of this system also guarantees the loss of the airframe and its equipment.
Information gleaned from Stewart Wilson's "Lincoln, Canberra and F-111 in Australian Service".
planeimages Peter Finlay
"Let's show these bastards the real X-1". Chuck Yeager when he lit the main rocket motor switch at 300 ft feet in front of the Muroc tower.
Post by planeimages on Jul 20, 2006 19:50:56 GMT 12
Thank you Group Captain, Sir, for the details as requested.
It looked like all press images either carefully positioned thecamera to preclude the serial number being seen or else the shots were doctored. We wouldn't like one of these things to turn up in a Parramatta Road car lot with a sign saying "Only used on Sundays by a little old lady" and then being able to identify it as the one "seen on TV"!
Would they bother repairing it now with so many miles on the clock?
Now here's a chance NZ. Slip over to Amberley and make them an offer they cannot refuse.
Maybe just the "escape capsule". You could always row it home.... the control column doubles as a bilge pump.
planeimages Peter Finlay
"Let's show these bastards the real X-1". Chuck Yeager when he lit the main rocket motor switch at 300 ft feet in front of the Muroc tower.
Actually there have been two safe ejections from RAAF F-111s, and both were in NZ. The Ohakea flameout and overun as depicted in Colin's picture in 1979(?), and one near Waiheke Island in 1978.
The only other time that an RAAF crew has attempted to eject from an F-111 was off Evans Head after a multiple birdstrike (Pelicans!) at very low level. Unfortunately for the two crew, the aircraft was operating outside the safe operational parameters of the capsule in that specific incident.
I believe that all the other F-111 crashes have involved CFIT and no attempt was made by the crews to eject.
Post by planeimages on Jul 20, 2006 22:49:13 GMT 12
Thanks for the correction Corsair67. The cockpit of one of the NZ incidents (Waiheke Island in 1978, I believe), now tours Australia on a trailer. It appears at air shows and Defence-recruitment displays. Great toy.
I would surmise, then, that decision taken in the recent incident was to save the a/c combined with the best possible expectations for the aircrew. (Naturally, the crew's welfare would be the top priority).
An excellent sequence of shots at Amberley. Aren't the crew cool... posing for pix with the a/c still on the strip?
planeimages Peter Finlay
"Let's show these bastards the real X-1". Chuck Yeager when he lit the main rocket motor switch at 300 ft feet in front of the Muroc tower.
Someone might be in for a arse-kicking if this is true!
No word on F-111 incident July 21, 2006.
THE Defence Department has refused to comment on whether a wrongly-inserted wheel pin is to blame for a dramatic emergency landing of an F-111 fighter jet.
The 26-strong F-111 fleet has been grounded while Tuesday's incident is investigated.
"We're not prepared to speculate on any causes for the incident until the investigation is carried out," a department spokesman said.
Today's Courier-Mail newspaper reported that a 12cm pin inserted back-to-front in the wheel was the reason for the emergency landing.
The spokesman said an interim report was due early next week.
Flying officer Peter Komar, 29, and navigator Flight Lieutenant Luke Warner, 32, were forced to make an emergency landing of their F-111 at the RAAF Amberley Base, west of Brisbane.
The plane was forced to circle for three hours to burn off fuel before landing after it lost a left wing wheel on takeoff.
There were no plans to bring forward the retirement of the F-111 planes - which are due to wind up their service in 2010.
Australian Defence Association executive director Neil James defended the planes, saying a modern aircraft may have fallen to pieces at such a landing.
"They're (F-111s) large and made of steel and that particular aircraft will be flying again," said Mr James.