Report: Bad weather, pilot error caused Italy F-16 crash

Report: Bad weather, pilot error caused Italy F-16 crash
Staff report
Posted : Friday Jan 18, 2008 17:00:49 EST

The September crash of an F-16 jet in Italy was caused by a combination of factors, including bad weather and pilot mistakes , the U.S. Air Force in Europe said Friday.

The pilot, Maj. Timothy Palmer of the 510th Fighter Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, safely ejected from the jet after he lost control of the fighter while flying through thunderstorms and clouds at about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18.

“The causes of this mishap ... were pilot action and an aircraft malfunction,” the accident investigation board concluded.

According to the investigation, the problems started with Palmer’s decision to fly into a thunderstorm, a decision that ran contrary to Air Force rules for routine training missions. The report also noted that Palmer’s evaluator, flying in another F-16, should have overruled the major’s decision.

The storm’s freezing temperatures and rain caused ice to plug up exterior sensors that feed information to the jet’s navigation instruments and automatic pilot, the board found.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/airforce_f16crash_080118/