ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 46943
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| Date: | 15-JAN-1982 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon |
| Owner/operator: | 421st TFSqn /388th TFWg USAF (421st TFSqn /388th Tactical Fighter Wingg United States Air Force) |
| Registration: | 78-0048 |
| MSN: | 61-44 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | near Sunrise Mountain, east of Nellis AFB, Clark County, Nevada -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Hill AFB, Utah (HIF/KHIF) |
| Nellis AFB, Nevada (LSV/KLSV) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Destroyed 15/1/1982 when impacted the ground east of Nellis AFB, Nevada. The F-16 was part of a two-ship and both were coming from Hill AFB to bring spare parts. The unit was on a TDY to Nellis at the time of the mishap.
78-0048 landed first and the aircraft was on a normal landing approach. On touchdown the main landing gear collapsed. This was supposed to be impossible but it happened. Probable cause was that the gear was not fully down. The centerline fuel tank exploded on contact with the runway.
The pilot selected full afterburner and managed to get the aircraft airborne again. The pilots logic would be that the entire ramp at Nellis was packed with aircraft and that he didn't want his disabled aircraft to slide off the runway and cause a major accident. The pilot climbed to approximately 1,500 feet, trailing about a 100 feet of flames, banked the aircraft left towards the desert, levelled out and ejected. There was a cheer from everyone who witnessed the accident when the pilots' chute opened.
F-16A 78-0048 came down on the slopes of the 3,364-foot (1,025-metre) Sunrise Mountain, in Clark County, east of Las Vegas, Nevada, at approximate co-ordinates 36°13′28″N, 114°58′37″W
Sources:
1. http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/48/
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20170306224555/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/Aircraft_by_Type/F-16/USAF/f_16_USAF_80s.htm
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1978.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunrise_Mountain_(Las_Vegas)
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/388th_Fighter_Wing#Tactical_Air_Command
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Nov-2008 10:35 | ASN archive | Added |
| 20-Nov-2011 14:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Oct-2013 22:10 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Nov-2013 00:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 11-Feb-2021 14:25 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Operator] |
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