Attitude Gyro Failure Caused QF-4E Crash

QF4 PhantomA failure of the pitch and roll attitude gyro led to a QF-4E Phantom II crash at the White Sands National Monument, approximately five miles southwest of Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., Feb. 7, 2014, according to an Air Combat Command accident investigation report just released.

The QF-4E, an unmanned aerial target, was assigned to Detachment 1, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron and based at Holloman Air Force Base, NM. Detachment 1, 82 ATRS reports to the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

At the time of the mishap, the aircraft was on final approach to land after a full-scale aerial target mission. During a full -scale aerial target mission, the QF-4E provides a realistic full-scale target for air-to-air weapon systems evaluation, and development and testing. The aircraft was destroyed on impact, and the total loss of the mishap was approximately $4.9 million. There was no damage to personal property, but two federal road signs were destroyed.

The pitch and roll attitude gyro is the instrument used to inform the pilot flying the aircraft of its orientation relative to the earth’s horizon. According to the report, the gyro sent erroneous inputs to the aircraft’s automatic flight control computer. These inaccurate inputs caused the aircraft to pitch up and down rapidly. The pilot in the ground-control station executed the proper emergency checklist items, but despite efforts to recover the aircraft, this cycle continued until the aircraft impacted the ground. The board president found, by clear and convincing evidence, that the cause of this mishap was a failure of the pitch and roll attitude gyro.

To read the full report, click here.

Source: US Air Force

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