Oops! - 24hourcampfire

This can't be a good career move.

So, what do you think his first words were when the dust cleared and he realized what he had done?

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Airman Forgets to Lower Wheels, Crashes $136 Million U.K. Fighter Jet

Thursday , May 01, 2008

SUN

A Royal Air Force top gun crash-landed a new $136.3 million Typhoon fighter � apparently after forgetting to put the wheels down during a training exercise in California.

The state-of-the-art jet was badly damaged as it skidded along a runway on its belly at 130 mph.

"Everything points to the pilot forgetting to lower the wheels, which does happen from time to time," an RAF insider said.

Another possible cause of the accident is landing gear failure � but none of the other 48 Typhoons in service has been grounded with such a problem.

The top gun and his co-pilot from 17 Squadron climbed unhurt from the 1,500-mph jet. They were taking part in a major war games exercise at China Lake air base in California where aircraft can train with live weapons because of the remote location.

The mangled jet will be brought back to Britain to see if it can be repaired.

Link to original story.

I can bet it was oops, and one of the words started with an F. Les

I bet he's going to hear a lot of phrases with words begining with the letter "F" in it from his commanding officers!!

bummer!

Wonder how he is going to like flying a desk for the foreseeable future.

tom

The Brits have come a long way from the Spitfires from the 40's. They have jets that can shoot enemy aircraft in the lips at 60 miles, land on a 150 ft wide runway in zero visibility, and they even have airplanes that require no pilot. But they just can't figure out that bloody landing-gear lever!

No gas going up and no wheels comin' down. Pretty common and always costly. Usually non-fatal. We had nicknames for those guys.

Originally Posted by pumpgun

Wonder how he is going to like flying a desk for the foreseeable future.

tom

Will he be flying a desk � or a wheel chair � or a coffin?

I don't know the Typhoon's landing speed or angle of attack � he may be crippled or even dead from a spinal compression. Gear-up landings of high-speed jet fighters can eliminate pilots as well as aircraft.

Originally Posted by Ken Howell

Originally Posted by pumpgun

Wonder how he is going to like flying a desk for the foreseeable future.

tom

Will he be flying a desk � or a wheel chair � or a coffin?

I don't know the Typhoon's landing speed or angle of attack � he may be crippled or even dead from a spinal compression. Gear-up landings of high-speed jet fighters can eliminate pilots as well as aircraft.

In that regard there is a bit of a silver lining. Apparently he walked away unscathed. Otherwise I would not have found any humor at all in the story.

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The top gun and his co-pilot from 17 Squadron climbed unhurt from the 1,500-mph jet.