ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 66445
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| Date: | Saturday 18 July 2009 |
| Time: | 03:15 LT |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle |
| Owner/operator: | 336th FSqn /4th FWg USAF |
| Registration: | 90-0231 |
| MSN: | 1160/E133 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Nawur District, 30 miles west of Ghazni Province -
 Afghanistan
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Bagram AFB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Combat loss during Operation Enduring Freedom near Nawur, Afghanistan on Jul 18, 2009. Both crew died.
The pilot, Capt. Mark R. "Pitbull" McDowell and the WSO, Capt. Thomas J. "Lag" Gramith were on a combat mission in support of coalition operations when their aircraft went down. It was the first time an Air Force fighter crashed in Afghanistan since the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001.
A team of U.S. and coalition forces where immediately responded to the crash site, secured it and recovered the Airmen. Air Combat Command officials released the results of the investigation on Dec 1, 2009. The report stated the flight lead WSO's incorrect assessment of a training target's elevation led to the crash.
The flight of two F-15E's were near the end of a night CAS sortie when they got permission to practice high-angle strafing runs over a dry lake bed while wearing night-vision goggles in low illumination. The planes wouldn’t fire rounds, but would practice approaches and targeting. The flight lead incorrectly assessed the target's altitude as 4,800 feet above sea level. The target was actually at 10,200 feet. Neither crew recognized the 5,400-foot discrepancy. The flight lead flew the first practice strafing attack, but discontinued the approach because his angle of attack was too shallow. The mishap crew began their attack and impacted the ground 10 seconds later. No attempt to pull out of the attack was made, and neither the pilot nor the WSO attempted to eject.
The board found five factors significantly contributed to the mishap: misperception of the operational conditions in the target area; an erroneous expectation for a typical night strafing attack; inexperience by the flight lead and the mishap crew at executing night strafing; channelized attention; and an improper cross check during the attack.
In the aftermath of the accident, Air Combat Command is reviewing training procedures for similar strafing runs, said Brig. Gen. Harry D. Polumbo, president of the accident investigation board.
Sources:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56H0PA20090718
http://www.acc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-091201-017.pdf
http://www.f-15e.info/joomla/history/2296-f-15e-losses#0-12-airframe-90-0231
http://web.archive.org/web/20171029221354/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/f-15.htm
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1990.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Jul-2009 10:11 | slowkid | Added |
| 11-Apr-2011 02:20 | Anon. | Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Apr-2012 15:15 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Aug-2016 19:12 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Feb-2020 12:21 | Iwosh | Updated [Operator, Location, Operator] |
| 26-Jan-2021 09:46 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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