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turbinetree

(24,632 posts)
Fri Apr 24, 2020, 11:10 AM Apr 2020

Hydraulic failure caused F-16 to crash near March base last year, Air Force says

Two parts, each less than an inch tall, that failed because they were improperly installed led to the loss of hydraulic pressure, preventing the pilot from controlling a $24 million Air National Guard F-16 that was destroyed when it crashed near March Air Reserve Base last year, according to a U.S Air Force report.

The pilot ejected and parachuted onto the base on May 16, 2019, suffering minor injuries. The Fighting Falcon plummeted through the roof of a warehouse, destroying the jet and causing a small fire. Twelve people in the warehouse were treated for exposure to the debris, the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said at the time.

The 22-page report, dated April 14 and obtained by this news organization on Thursday, April 23, provides the Air Force’s first publicly announced explanation for the crash.

The document said the two valves were damaged before the crash, causing hydraulic fluid to leak. The valves were part of a flight-control system that was overhauled in January 2019 and installed in the jet after a possible hydraulic leak was discovered several months later.

https://www.pe.com/2020/04/23/hydraulic-failure-caused-f-16-to-crash-near-march-base-last-year-air-force-says/

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