ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 152093
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| Date: | Thursday 27 December 2012 |
| Time: | 15:30 LT |
| Type: |  General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon |
| Owner/operator: | 194th FSqn /144th FWg California ANG USAF |
| Registration: | 87-0315 |
| MSN: | 5C-576 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Owens Dry Lake, Inyo County, 5 miles E of Lone Pine, Sierra Nevada, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Fresno AFB, CA (FAT/KFAT) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A California Air National Guard F-16C block 32 from the 194th Fighter Squadron crashed during a routine training mission on Thursday around 15:30hrs local time about 100 miles east of Fresno. The pilot safely ejected.
The pilot had 10 years flight experience with the $21 million F-16 fighter jet. The F-16 was flying between 12,000 and 15,000 feet when an in-flight emergency occurred and the aircraft crashed in a remote area of Inyo County, said Col. Clay Garrison of the 144th Fighter Wing. (Other sources locate the crash site as Owens Dry Lake, five miles south of Lone Pine, Eastern Sierra Nevada, California at co-ordinates 36.433269°N, 117.950916°W)
An Air National Guard official said the pilot was able to eject safely. According to the following, which is an except from the official USAF Board of Inquiry into the accident:
"On 27 December 2012, at approximately 1533 local time, the mishap aircraft, an F-16C Fighting Falcon, tail number 87-0315 assigned to the 144th Fighter Wing, Fresno Air National Guard Base, California went out of control during a training mission and impacted the ground 84 nautical miles east of Fresno, CA. The mishap pilot ejected safely with minor injuries. The mishap aircraft was destroyed upon impact with total loss valued at $21,405,503.25. The aircraft impacted the ground in a desolate area on government land causing superficial landscape damage. There was no damage to private property and there were no civilian casualties.
According to the results of the accident investigation, the pilot failed to properly recover the aircraft from a high-pitch, low airspeed state, resulting in an inverted deep stall. In addition, the pilot failed to properly apply out-of-control recovery procedures and was unable to recover the aircraft before ejection.
The board president found three human factors primarily responsible for the accident:
- Complacency evident throughout the entire flight;
- Pressing the equipment beyond reasonable limits; and
- Procedural error in the last few minutes of flight.
Based on the evidence, the board president also found other human factors that substantially contributed to the accident: lack of discipline, improper seating and restraints, sensory illusions, unrecognized spatial disorientation, channelized attention, and error due to disorientation."
Sources:
1. http://www.sierrawave.net/military-plane-crashs/
2. http://www.petethomasoutdoors.com/2012/12/military-plane-crash-reported-at-owens-lake-in-eastern-sierra.html
3. http://nation.time.com/2013/04/15/crash-course/
4. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.acc.af.mil/media/archives/story.asp?id=123343622]
5. http://www.airforcemag.com/AircraftAccidentReports/Documents/2013/122712_F-16C_Fresno_full.pdf
6. http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/2341/
7. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1987.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Dec-2012 02:03 | gerard57 | Added |
| 28-Dec-2012 05:27 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 25-Sep-2013 01:54 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 08-Feb-2020 18:55 | Iwosh | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 14-Feb-2021 18:28 | INV | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
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