ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 46420
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| Date: | Monday 22 September 2003 |
| Time: | 13:00 LT |
| Type: |  General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon |
| Owner/operator: | 111th FSqn /147th FWg Texas ANG USAF |
| Registration: | 84-1303 |
| MSN: | 5C-140 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Rosepine, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, 12 miles SW of Fort Polk -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Ellington AFB, Texas (EFD/KEFD) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
An F-16C from the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Fighter Wing crashed Monday afternoon in rural western Louisiana. The pilot ejected and was in satisfactory condition at a hospital at the Army's nearby Fort Polk.
The pilot was one of a group of F-16 pilots from Ellington Air Base in Houston flying over the area during a routine training mission. The plane crashed into the woods of Vernon Parish at about 1 p.m., Hilton said.
Air National Guard spokesman Lt. Ramsey Hammad said the jet went down Monday afternoon in Rosepine, Louisiana, near Ft. Polk, a U.S. Army base. Military police from Fort Polk were at the scene.
A fatigue failure of an engine blade at the first stage caused imbalance which lead to all blades on the first stage being torn out. Pilot, Captain Louis A. Davenport was able to eject safely and flew again 12 days after. The wreckage buried itself deep into the ground in a forest.
Per eyewitness report from the pilot involved:
"In a nutshell, I was number 2 (F-16C #84-1303) in a six-ship air-to-ground training sortie; Our plan was to start up at 15,000', accelerate and drop down to 1000' for our run-in, pop up to drop our bombs (simulated), and then run out low again. We had just started ramping down towards the deck when I heard a loud "bang" followed by a deafening silence. Seconds later every bell, whistle, light, and alarm went off as I saw fire and engine failure indications. I made a mayday call to which no. 3 asked if my afterburner was lit.
Responding that it definitely was not lit started the "Two, your jet is on fire! I repeat you are ON FIRE right now!" I shut the engine down (it shut itself down) and started looking for places to land, but there were none. I milked the jet for 2 minutes while the engine continued to burn until there was no longer any option but the silk elevator. I ejected and opened my eyes to see my plane, in flames, flying off without me.
Thirty-eight seconds later it burst into a fireball a few miles away. I ended up being on the ground less than 10 minutes before an Army Evac helicopter (they were awaiting take off clearance for a training mission when they got the actual "pilot down" call) picked me up. A couple of bruises were the extent of my injury. It turns out that the engine threw a fan blade which tore through the engine housing, ripped through a main fuel tank, and shot out the top of the air plane. Fuel then poured into the engine and there was no way to extinguish the fire. I have the ejection seat as a reminder to that harrowing day!"
Sources:
1. http://www.scramble.nl [Scramble 298]
2. http://usaf.aib.law.af.mil/ExecSum2003/F-16C_Ellington_22Sep03.pdf
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1984.html
4. http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/1633/
5. http://web.archive.org/web/20170218164837/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/Aircraft_by_Type/F-16/USAF/f_16_USAF_00s.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Nov-2008 10:35 | ASN archive | Added |
| 22-Nov-2013 02:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Feb-2020 15:26 | Iwosh | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 23-Feb-2021 10:03 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator] |
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