F-16 crash blamed on pilot disorientation

An investigative report found that an Ohio Air Guard major on a June mission in Iraq flew by how he felt -- not his instruments -- to determine if he was level and climbing in his F-16. The report said he suffered spatial disorientation and was nearly upside down when he pulled back on the stick, sending him into a 61-degree dive at over 450 mph.


F-16 crash blamed on pilot disorientation
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 15, 2007 6:08:39 EDT

An Air Force investigation into the fatal crash of an F-16 Fighting Falcon just after the jet took off from Balad Air Base, Iraq, on June 15 concluded the accident was caused by the pilot becoming disoriented as he departed at night through clouds of sand.

The pilot, Maj. Kevin Sonnenberg, 42, of the 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, died instantly when his F-16 struck the ground at more than 450 mph, the investigative report found. Air Force Times obtained a copy of the report through a Freedom of Information Act request.

“He was an outstanding officer. He was also highly skilled and trained in the F-16,” said Brig. Gen. Guy Walsh, commander of the Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Wing and a longtime A-10 Thunderbolt pilot, who presided over the investigative board.

There were no eyewitnesses to the accident and no radio communications from Sonnenberg other than routine checks. The investigative board reached many of its conclusions based on data salvaged from the plane’s black box.

The investigation found that 30 minutes passed before Balad controllers realized there had been a crash and that it took another hour to locate the burning wreckage.

Walsh told Air Force Times that at first, Sonnenberg’s flight lead assumed his wingman had radio problems and that they would join back up. Balad officials assumed reports of a large explosion near the base were related to insurgent actions, not a crash.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/10/airforce_balad_crash_071015w/