lessonslearned A Close Call O 82 MILITARY OFFICER MAY 2016
When a functional check fl ight comes on the heels of an operational readiness inspection, a weapons load crew’s scrupulous attention to procedure prevents a disaster.
On a clear Sunday morning in 1962 at Bitburg air base, Germany, I was preparing to fl y a functional check fl ight (FCF) on an F-105D. The base had been on nuclear alert all weekend while an Air Force Inspector General team conducted an operational readiness inspection (ORI) on the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing. An ORI mimicked a wartime scenario.
All fl yable aircraft were considered opera- tionally ready and available for the wing’s nuclear mission. During the ORI, the weap- ons load crew demonstrated their profi cien- cy in loading a “classifi ed” dummy nuclear weapon into the test aircraft’s bomb bay. Afterward, to expedite the FCF, the dummy weapon was left in the bomb bay compart- ment until the FCF was completed. A typical test fl ight lasted an hour and included a high-altitude check of the en- gine and a low- altitude test of the ship’s inte- grated weap- ons delivery system. This involved fl ying a nuclear weapons delivery profi le at 1,000 feet altitude and 550 knots (630 mph) toward the target. Then, using the ship’s radar to paint the target — I se- lected a small German town — at 8 miles on the radar, I pressed the toss bomb comput- er (TBC) button on my fl ight control stick, and a green light illuminated, indicating the TBC was doing the calculations. As I pulled the ship’s nose up with the required
4G pull, on an actual combat mission, the bomb would be tossed to the target. As the aircraft pitch angle approached
vertical, the red TBC bomb-release light illuminated, accompanied by a loud thump. I had never experienced that thump, despite fl ying about 60 test fl ights a month. Still, all systems checked good. Upon landing, I spotted the airplane’s
crew chief, accompanied by the weapons load crew with their bomb dolly. Then it hit me — the thump was the TBC ejecting the heavy inert nuclear weapon on the German town! It surely would have killed numerous people and caused lots of damage. I parked the aircraft, gritting my teeth as
I awaited horrifying news. The load crew chief yelled up at me, “Hey, Captain, did you deplete the bomb plunger accumulator? It’s reading zero pounds per square inch now.”
safety-minded
Before my fl ight, the load crew had conscientiously inserted the bomb-release safety pin, preventing release of the weap- on. Their strict compliance with safety procedures had saved not only several in- nocent lives but also my conscience and my Air Force career.
MO
— John Lowery is a retired Air Force lieuten- ant colonel in Folsom, Calif. For submission information, see page 6.
Tell Your Story Military Officer seeks service-related anecdotes that left an impression. Submit your stories (between 400 and 450 words) by email to
profseries@moaa.org or by mail to MOAA Professional Series, 201 N. Washington St., Al- exandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92