Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
San Antonio Express-News
May 8, 2008 By Sig Christenson
Hundreds of T-38 training jets will undergo inspections of the aircrafts' ailerons, a crucial part of the plane, before they're allowed to fly again, the Air Force said Wednesday.
The order, issued by the San Antonio-based Air Education and Training Command, came after two fatal crashes within eight days. Ailerons are devices on each wing used to control rolls.
“Preliminary data we're getting from many different sources has caused us to make a prudent decision to inspect the ailerons on our T-38s,” said Capt. John Severns, an AETC spokesman. “That does not mean the ailerons are believed to be a factor in the crashes.”
All 450 jets were grounded May 1 after a T-38 went down at Sheppard AFB outside Wichita Falls, killing Maj. Brad Funk, 35, an instructor pilot, and 2nd Lt. Alec Littler, 23, a student pilot. An April 23 T-38 crash at Columbus AFB, Miss., killed instructor pilot Maj. David Faulkner and first-year student 2nd Lt. Matthew Emmons.
Both supersonic jets were approaching at low altitude and all was apparently normal when they went down, Severns said. Asked if the sudden crashes indicated mechanical failure, he replied, “We are not suggesting anything at this point.”
A former AETC commander and veteran pilot said he didn't know details about the crashes, but noted that the failure of the ailerons to perform properly could prove disastrous.
Retired Gen. Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton said a pilot wanting to roll left puts the control stick in the same direction. That, in turn, causes the aileron on the left wing to go up, and the one on the right to go down.
“You can see how if the wind pressures are pushing the left wing down and the right wing up, that will cause the airplane to continuously roll to the left,” said Newton, a veteran of at least 1,500 hours in the T-38, a plane he flew with the Thunderbirds precision flight team.
The T-38 joined the Air Force inventory in 1961 and is used to prepare pilots for training in fighter and bomber aircraft.
May 8, 2008 By Sig Christenson
Hundreds of T-38 training jets will undergo inspections of the aircrafts' ailerons, a crucial part of the plane, before they're allowed to fly again, the Air Force said Wednesday.
The order, issued by the San Antonio-based Air Education and Training Command, came after two fatal crashes within eight days. Ailerons are devices on each wing used to control rolls.
“Preliminary data we're getting from many different sources has caused us to make a prudent decision to inspect the ailerons on our T-38s,” said Capt. John Severns, an AETC spokesman. “That does not mean the ailerons are believed to be a factor in the crashes.”
All 450 jets were grounded May 1 after a T-38 went down at Sheppard AFB outside Wichita Falls, killing Maj. Brad Funk, 35, an instructor pilot, and 2nd Lt. Alec Littler, 23, a student pilot. An April 23 T-38 crash at Columbus AFB, Miss., killed instructor pilot Maj. David Faulkner and first-year student 2nd Lt. Matthew Emmons.
Both supersonic jets were approaching at low altitude and all was apparently normal when they went down, Severns said. Asked if the sudden crashes indicated mechanical failure, he replied, “We are not suggesting anything at this point.”
A former AETC commander and veteran pilot said he didn't know details about the crashes, but noted that the failure of the ailerons to perform properly could prove disastrous.
Retired Gen. Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton said a pilot wanting to roll left puts the control stick in the same direction. That, in turn, causes the aileron on the left wing to go up, and the one on the right to go down.
“You can see how if the wind pressures are pushing the left wing down and the right wing up, that will cause the airplane to continuously roll to the left,” said Newton, a veteran of at least 1,500 hours in the T-38, a plane he flew with the Thunderbirds precision flight team.
The T-38 joined the Air Force inventory in 1961 and is used to prepare pilots for training in fighter and bomber aircraft.