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Prowler Down in Eastern WA


Stitch

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  • 11 months later...

Thread bump. Local media reports the Navy Accident Report says the mishap was due to pilot error. First accident for the EA-6B training program in 40 years. (Have they really been around that long?)

:beer:

Tough day for our Navy Bros...

EDIT: Lack of spelling skills. x2

Edited by Stitch
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Went through the linked 390+ page "report" (more of a collection of paperwork along with a relatively short report). Since I know most of you are lazy, here's what I got out of it:

Student up front was doing well, but struggling through low levels (specifically turns), paired up with an instructor EMCO that while he had 1500+ hours in the jet, had low time (pretty much just the instructor EMCO recertification) over the last year and a half going into the flight. Executing low level turns (two uncalled turns in a row), the aircraft started nose slicing into the turn (due to over bank most likely) and it wasn't recovered from quickly enough. The back seater tried to eject, but far too late, front enders never pulled handles...outside the envelope anyways I'm sure.

They identified a number of causal factors mostly tracing back to documentation of performance, missed opportunity for remedial training, and waiving/combining of syllabus events, mostly focusing on the students performance and the instructor EMCO's scan in that flight regime.

It's a morbid double edge sword, a testament to our training that creates solid IPs (that this type of tragedy doesn't occur more often), while at the same time highlighting the all to often lack of effort IPs put into additional one-on-one training and filling out grade sheets completely and correctly. There aren't many people that would say the average IP is underworked, and it's damn hard to focus on paperwork after a debrief. Making the kind of cuts to the Air Force we're looking at, we need to be damn careful we don't exacerbate this delicate balance of safely creating the people that keep us safe.

Sad story, :beer::beer::beer:

Bendy

EDIT: Changed IP to EMCO (Thanks ExBoneOSO)

Edited by Bender
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Bendy,

What you describe above is exactly what I'm worried about with our drawdown. We are either cutting too much experience involuntarily because those IPs who have been flying the line don't have the magic squares filled to get promoted and continued, or we are just opening the door and letting good dudes walk on their own because we keep giving them BS taskers that don't relate to their jobs...all while keeping the line IPs who could only fly if it was a "tax free" mission for the month because they "had too much going on at the office" to fly a local training sortie during the week. Great staff bubbas, terrible instructors. I'm seeing too many of them staying around, and they are the ones we are going to be counting on to keep our young inexperience "safe."

When I was growing up in the flying world, I expected to see more "instruction" from the IPs I flew with. I'm certain it was not because I was just that sharp in the jet, but rather, it just seemed like it was more important to get home for the day than to give extra instruction or a thorough debrief. Or maybe they were just scared of offending me by giving me honest feedback...I don't know why the extra time wasn't given. Either way, I've tried not to be that kind of IP. Hopefully the right people are staying...but from what it sounds like, all the "good" ones I know are out or trying to get out, while the staffers who only fly "good deals" are sticking around hoping to make O-6. Scary.

Our business is dangerous, and we need people who care enough to spend the extra time to make sure we're doing it right...not "just good enough"

Not saying that was the case with this incident...I'm posting in general.

Edit to clarify I'm not saying this IP didn't care...

Edited by BitteEinBit
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Just finished reading the report - did anyone else catch that the Instructor was an ECMO, and not an IP? Granted the jet doesn't have dual controls, but wouldn't it be normal to have an IP, especially if the student needed some extra LL help?

Do Mudhen IWSOs fly with student front seaters?

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