Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
September 20, 2007 The errant flare has led to changes in air personnel and procedures.
By Jacqueline L. Urgo, Inquirer Staff Writer
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. – The sky over the Warren Grove Gunnery Range has been quiet since May, when a massive wildfire sparked during a jet fighter training mission scorched 17,250 acres and routed thousands of people from their homes.
But a storm continues brewing. Taxpayers may be stuck with some $200 million in property claims from the Air National Guard mistake, according to an accounting released last week.
And now it appears that military heads will roll.
The military says 161 claims totaling more than $200 million have been filed so far in a fire that destroyed five houses and significantly damaged 13 others. One single claim is asking for $197 million from the government for losses it says are the result of the fire.
The Air Force declined yesterday to identify the claimant. It also wouldn't indicate whether the filer is an individual resident, private business or government facility.
Brig. Gen. Lawrence S. Thomas, commander of the New Jersey Air National Guard, told the Stafford Township Council on Tuesday night that a full military review of the accident has already resulted in significant administrative changes and disciplinary actions within the military.
"We have folks retiring and some who will never fly an F-16 again," said Thomas, according to meeting transcripts.
Thomas called the military's investigation a "top to bottom review" of procedures and practices at the range.
The fire started when a pilot flying at low altitude dropped a practice flare into the tinderbox-dry Pinelands on May 15. The blaze roared out of control and burned for three days, reducing ecologically significant woodlands to charred sticks. People were evacuated from surrounding communities in Burlington and Ocean Counties for two to three days as the fire spread and then was eventually brought under control.
Military officials said the fire was sparked by an errant flare from an F-16 jet from the 177th Fighter Wing that was on a routine practice mission. A military investigation said that personnel at the range should have assessed the drought-like conditions before allowing the flare to be dropped.
The fire raised a number of safety questions from residents who live near the range. Since the range was opened 60 years ago, the area has become one of the fastest-growing areas in America's most-crowded state. More than 50,000 people live within 10 miles of the range.
Thomas declined to detail changes planned at the base in the coming months. He said a "stand down" that had grounded training missions at the range has been lifted. He added that it is unlikely any planes will be flying over the range until a new range officer and a new operations group commander have been named.
Thomas said that by convening its safety board investigation, the Air Force demonstrated the seriousness with which it viewed the fire. The review will result in significant changes in how Warren Grove and other military practice ranges will operate.
He said that new standards would govern how pilots are briefed when they arrive at the range for practice missions.
The fire four months ago wasn't the first significant accident related to the range.
An F-16 Vulcan cannon was more than three miles off target in November 2004, when it blasted 1.5-inch steel ammunition training rounds into the roof of the Little Egg Harbor Township Intermediate School. The school happened to be closed that day, and no one was injured.
In 2002, a pilot ejected from an F-16 on a practice run just before it crashed into the woods - several dozen yards from a busy stretch of the Garden State Parkway. Although it sent debris onto the highway, no one was injured.
A dummy bomb was dumped a mile off target in 1999, igniting a fire that significantly damaged 12,000 acres of the Pinelands. And in 1997, two pilots escaped injury by ejecting from F-16s over the Atlantic Ocean off Brigantine.
September 20, 2007 The errant flare has led to changes in air personnel and procedures.
By Jacqueline L. Urgo, Inquirer Staff Writer
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. – The sky over the Warren Grove Gunnery Range has been quiet since May, when a massive wildfire sparked during a jet fighter training mission scorched 17,250 acres and routed thousands of people from their homes.
But a storm continues brewing. Taxpayers may be stuck with some $200 million in property claims from the Air National Guard mistake, according to an accounting released last week.
And now it appears that military heads will roll.
The military says 161 claims totaling more than $200 million have been filed so far in a fire that destroyed five houses and significantly damaged 13 others. One single claim is asking for $197 million from the government for losses it says are the result of the fire.
The Air Force declined yesterday to identify the claimant. It also wouldn't indicate whether the filer is an individual resident, private business or government facility.
Brig. Gen. Lawrence S. Thomas, commander of the New Jersey Air National Guard, told the Stafford Township Council on Tuesday night that a full military review of the accident has already resulted in significant administrative changes and disciplinary actions within the military.
"We have folks retiring and some who will never fly an F-16 again," said Thomas, according to meeting transcripts.
Thomas called the military's investigation a "top to bottom review" of procedures and practices at the range.
The fire started when a pilot flying at low altitude dropped a practice flare into the tinderbox-dry Pinelands on May 15. The blaze roared out of control and burned for three days, reducing ecologically significant woodlands to charred sticks. People were evacuated from surrounding communities in Burlington and Ocean Counties for two to three days as the fire spread and then was eventually brought under control.
Military officials said the fire was sparked by an errant flare from an F-16 jet from the 177th Fighter Wing that was on a routine practice mission. A military investigation said that personnel at the range should have assessed the drought-like conditions before allowing the flare to be dropped.
The fire raised a number of safety questions from residents who live near the range. Since the range was opened 60 years ago, the area has become one of the fastest-growing areas in America's most-crowded state. More than 50,000 people live within 10 miles of the range.
Thomas declined to detail changes planned at the base in the coming months. He said a "stand down" that had grounded training missions at the range has been lifted. He added that it is unlikely any planes will be flying over the range until a new range officer and a new operations group commander have been named.
Thomas said that by convening its safety board investigation, the Air Force demonstrated the seriousness with which it viewed the fire. The review will result in significant changes in how Warren Grove and other military practice ranges will operate.
He said that new standards would govern how pilots are briefed when they arrive at the range for practice missions.
The fire four months ago wasn't the first significant accident related to the range.
An F-16 Vulcan cannon was more than three miles off target in November 2004, when it blasted 1.5-inch steel ammunition training rounds into the roof of the Little Egg Harbor Township Intermediate School. The school happened to be closed that day, and no one was injured.
In 2002, a pilot ejected from an F-16 on a practice run just before it crashed into the woods - several dozen yards from a busy stretch of the Garden State Parkway. Although it sent debris onto the highway, no one was injured.
A dummy bomb was dumped a mile off target in 1999, igniting a fire that significantly damaged 12,000 acres of the Pinelands. And in 1997, two pilots escaped injury by ejecting from F-16s over the Atlantic Ocean off Brigantine.