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Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

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Re: Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

#31

Post by Jerry2 »

chx wrote: post #25

https://www.resetera.com/threads/technician-accidentally-fir... here's someone claiming to be an F-16 weapons technician posting and -- they needed to do something stupid or the weight-on-wheels switch needed to malfunction.

>they needed to do something stupid or the weight-on-wheels switch needed to malfunction.

Actually, the F-16 has a switch to override the 'weight on wheels' (WOW) safety for the weapons. It's used for doing checks and maintenance on the ground. Switch was probably flipped and it did what it was supposed to do. You can see the procedure here:

http://aviationandaccessories.tpub.com/TM-1-1510-224-10/css/...

Re: Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

#34

Post by Joeri »

tschwimmer wrote: post #7

I took a look at the US Air Force subreddit[0] and lots of people who maintain these jets are skeptical as to the accidental nature of this incident. According to several comments there are many physical failsafes that would need to be deactivated in order for this to happen. The incident occurred in Belgium but it’s hard to believe their F-16s are significantly different. [0] https://reddit.com/r/AirForce/comments/9…

The military leadership in belgium also commented that it had to be a very unlucky combination of circumstances, but they didn’t want to say more without further investigation.

Re: Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

#35

Post by Tharkun »

AlexanderDhoore wrote: post #29
mklarmann wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You suspect some insurance fraud?

As rutgerv said, there is some controversy about what the future of Belgian air force looks like. Do we maintain current planes? Do we buy new ones? If yes, which ones? Does Belgium even need these weapons? Very difficult political questions. I'm not saying this has anything to do with it. But at least that's the context.

These are not difficult political questions. The US through NATO are forcing Belgium to buy F35s, and that'll be that. Out of all the jets allegedly in the running, only F35s can be used to drop US nukes. The very same US nukes which have been sitting around in Belgium for decades. The worst best kept secret in the country. No politician is willing/allowed to go on record about this, so they all pretend other jets are beinv considered.

Re: Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

#36

Post by jacobush »

Jerry2 wrote: post #31
chx wrote: post #25

https://www.resetera.com/threads/technician-accidentally-fir... here's someone claiming to be an F-16 weapons technician posting and -- they needed to do something stupid or the weight-on-wheels switch needed to malfunction.

> they needed to do something stupid or the weight-on-wheels switch needed to malfunction. Actually, the F-16 has a switch to override the 'weight on wheels' (WOW) safety for the weapons. It's used for doing checks and maintenance on the ground. Switch was probably flipped and it did what it was supposed to do. You can see the procedure here: http://aviationandaccessories.tpub.com/TM-1-1510-224-10/css/...

But, but ... the action hero scenario then? Strafing enemy while taxiing to the runway?!

Re: Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

#37

Post by ElBarto »

AlexanderDhoore wrote: post #9

As a Belgian I find this hilarious. This might be the most Belgian thing ever. By the way they are investigating whether this was an accident or on purpose. The chances of this being an accident are quite small.

I find it sad that European airforces buy so many US planes.

Re: Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

#38

Post by jpatokal »

roma1n wrote: post #33
curiousgal wrote: post #4

That has got to be the most expensive fuckup by a technician ever.

Not sure. An ariane 4 rocket exploded due to a leftover cleaning rag in a water line. I would guess the launcher + payload price would top the price of an F16?

Two F16s were damaged, although it's not clear from the article if the other one is also a write-off.

Re: Belgian Air Force F-16 destroyed by fire during maintenance

#40

Post by jnurmine »

Tharkun wrote: post #35
AlexanderDhoore wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As rutgerv said, there is some controversy about what the future of Belgian air force looks like. Do we maintain current planes? Do we buy new ones? If yes, which ones? Does Belgium even need these weapons? Very difficult political questions. I'm not saying this has anything to do with it. But at least that's the context.

These are not difficult political questions. The US through NATO are forcing Belgium to buy F35s, and that'll be that. Out of all the jets allegedly in the running, only F35s can be used to drop US nukes. The very same US nukes which have been sitting around in Belgium for decades. The worst best kept secret in the country. No politician is willing/allowed to go on record about this, so they all pretend other jets ar…

It sure is silly to buy an expensive military plane if one cannot produce all parts including the engines domestically... how is hauling spares from across the Atlantic going to work in a hot situation?
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