A report obtained by an Australian senator confirms that a pilot's distraction caused a serious fighter jet accident. F / A-18 Super Hornet on 08/12/2020. The two-seat jet veered off the runway as it took off, leading to the ejection of both crew .
The Defense Flight Safety Bureau (DFSB) document, presented by Senator Rex Patrick to the news agency ABC, gives details of the incident that took place at RAAF Amberley air base, which left the airmen slightly injured and the F/A-18F damaged.
“During takeoff, the aircraft left the right side of the runway surface, culminating in the ejection of both crew ”, states the report.
“Base emergency services were immediately notified and the crew was rescued and medically assisted. Both crew suffered minor injuries from the ejection and the aircraft sustained moderate damage.”
DFSB investigators found that inattention to “as checklist actions prior to aircraft alignment resulted in a 'master caution' and 'check trim' message on the left digital display indicator when the throttles were advanced into the afterburner for takeoff”.
“During takeoff, the check trim warning distracted the pilot from prioritizing focus on directional control,” researchers say. This caused the pilot not to pay attention to the aircraft's heading on the runway for several seconds.
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They added that "The crosswind conditions on the day, the position of the aircraft's alignment and the asymmetrical loading of the stations exacerbated the tendency of the aircraft to deviate from the runway direction".
The aircraft was loaded with two external tanks, inert AIM-9X and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, and an air combat instrumentation pod. The tanks were installed asymmetrically, with one mounted under the right wing inner station and the other in the fuselage station.
“Upon noticing the course deviation, it is likely that the pilot experienced an acute stress response, followed by a short duration of impaired cognitive performance. During this period, a series of errors of action were committed in an attempt to correct and maintain directional control of the aircraft”, points out the DFSB.
During the investigation, it was discovered that when the Super Hornet reached its maximum ground speed, the landing gear left the runway, hitting a runway edge light, breaking steering control of the front landing gear.
Out of control, the F/A-18 went off the edge of the runway, entering the construction site and hitting a pile of concrete. The plane jumped and this caused the Weapons Systems Officer – the backseat crew member – to activate the plane's ejection seats.
It should be noted that this crew member is not a pilot and does not have any control over the plane's flight controls.
Investigators found that the ejection likely severed the Super Hornet's accelerators. The fighter continued to move with power at idle, until it stopped about 930 meters from the starting point of the runway and 200 meters to the right of the centerline of the runway.
Responding to the Senator, the Australian Ministry of Defense said that repairing the F/A-18F cost A$1,51 million and also led to the grounding of all RAAF F/A-18s and EA-18 Growlers. for 10 days. The aircraft was released from investigations on 02/02/2021, returning to operations in the middle of the same year.
