A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 555th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron arrives at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, July 17, 2023. A weapons-loading vehicle collided with an F-16 on the ground belonging to the same squadron in the Middle East in November 2023, sparking a fire, a newly released Air Force investigation report said. (Christian Silvera/U.S. Air Force)
A ground collision between a bomb-lifting vehicle and an F-16 jet belonging to the 555th Fighter Squadron at Aviano Air Base resulted in $30 million in damage to the aircraft, U.S. Air Forces Europe – Air Forces Africa said in a new accident investigation report.
The accident, which happened at an undisclosed location in the Middle East in November 2023, caused no deaths or critical injuries, the report said.
However, a lack of “situational awareness” on the part of the weapons loader and a “loose culture” of adherence to Air Force standards were contributing factors in the costly accident, USAFE-AF said Friday in a statement.
The Air Force spent an additional $5,000 on environmental cleanup.
The accident occurred after an MJ-1 weapons loader, also known as a “jammer,” was unable to stop while driving in reverse, USAFE-AF said.
An airman straps a GBU-38 munition to an MJ-1 bomb lift truck in during a competition at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, Oct. 21, 2021. An MJ-1 collided with an F-16 in the Middle East in November 2023, causing $30 million in damages, according to a recently released Air Force investigation report. (Kimberly Barrera/U.S. Air Force)
The driver panicked and mistakenly hit the accelerator pedal when he thought he was hitting the brakes, the report said.
The jammer hit a nearby F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft, causing the operator to hit his head and hurt his back on the jet’s bomb rack unit while pinning him to the dashboard of the jammer, the report said.
“The jammer bounced off the landing gear tire of the F-15E, simultaneously throwing the operator off the jammer while also sending the jammer toward the F-16 at a high rate of speed,” the report said.
The jammer hit the F-16’s right fuel tank, causing a fuel leak. In turn, sparks emitted from the jammer ignited a fire that engulfed the jammer and the right side of the F-16, the report said.
