F/A-18 deck fire on USS Carl Vinson

SuperScotty

SuperScotty

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April 15, 2011

Navy Releases Video Of F/A-18C Landing

The Navy has released video of the April 11 one-engine landing made by an F/A-18C aboard the USS Carl Vinson and during which the aircraft caught fire. The aircraft had undergone maintenance and was performing touch-and-go's when one engine caught fire and was shut down in flight. Immediately after landing, the aircraft's aft fuselage was engulfed in flames. Flight deck fire crews responded and the fire was extinguished with aqueous film forming foam. The Hornet was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 113 and its pilot escaped the episode uninjured. Crash and Salvage leading chief, Petty Officer Benjamin Bilyeu, said in a military news release, "You can drill day-in and day-out but when the event happens, to actually see the training being as effective as it was, that was incredible and made me proud to be a Sailor on the Vinson." Click through for the video..

The Vinson has been involved in operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn, as deployed with the U.S. 5th Fleet. This event, in which no personnel were injured, separates itself in that aspect from a March 30, engine explosion that involved another F/A-18C. That episode occurred on the deck of the USS John C, Stennis as the jet was preparing for takeoff. The aircraft in that case was assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101. A total of 10 sailors received injuries in the March 30 explosion. Four of them were hospitalized.

[video]http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/navy_fire_video_hornet_fa18_stennis_204494-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS[/video]
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Anybody see the pilot get out? I would have been running the second my CL were done. Glad the pilots ok tho:clap:
 
Tangential question: It's 2011, the golden age of cheap, high-quality off-the-shelf electronics ... why is the video quality so crappy?
 
MikeOH58 said:
MikeD- Was the first response vehicle spraying into the engine inlets?
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Appears to be both the inlet as well as the underside. Both for fire suppression as well as to shut down a running engine that may still be on. Carriers use the small P-16 and P-25 ARFF tugs, which are extremely low profile and maneuver on a dime.

Bandit_Driver said:
Glad it turned out well. Must have been fun fighting a fire in 30 knot winds...
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Good thing here is that with the wind over the deck, the wind is keeping the fire away from the cockpit area. Still, in winds like that you're right, dispersion of the AFFF foam is a pain in the ass. Of course, if the fire gets too great to put out on a carrier, then Tilly the crane can maneuver in and shove the whole mess over the side into Davey Jones' Locker.
 

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Depending on the type of fire and whether or not the engines were running, we were taught to spray into the inlets not directly, but offset into the intake on the F18.
 
A carrier deck fire is scary, serious business. If you haven't seen it search for the USS Forestal. Nasty stuff. Never had a fire on deck while I was on the Ranger, but we did have a missle shake loose and scoot across the deck and go over the side.....That was one of the two times I recall going to GQ for real vs. practice..... :eek:
 
MikeD said:
Good thing here is that with the wind over the deck, the wind is keeping the fire away from the cockpit area. Still, in winds like that you're right, dispersion of the AFFF foam is a pain in the ass. Of course, if the fire gets too great to put out on a carrier, then Tilly the crane can maneuver in and shove the whole mess over the side into Davey Jones' Locker.
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How would they push a fireball off the side? Thats something I want in my job description!
 
BeRich said:
Damn....that's just bad luck right there.
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I don't know if you've seen the NatGeo show about it but it was bad decision making and bad luck. Using WWII weapons during Vietnam ended up very bad thanks to some electronics.

SuperScotty said:
How would they push a fireball off the side? Thats something I want in my job description!
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I think it would be cool, but if all the other aircraft are secured on the flight deck like I'm assuming (I'm not in the military, nor have I been) I would just go right full rudder and the plane should scoot off the deck on it's own. The ship only does 1 degree deck angle turns so the aircraft won't slide. They can go up to, I think 15 degree deck angle, but don't quote me on that.
 
braunpilot said:
I think it would be cool, but if all the other aircraft are secured on the flight deck like I'm assuming (I'm not in the military, nor have I been) I would just go right full rudder and the plane should scoot off the deck on it's own. The ship only does 1 degree deck angle turns so the aircraft won't slide. They can go up to, I think 15 degree deck angle, but don't quote me on that.
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Reminds me of when I got to "drive" the USS Kitty Hawk for a few mins back when I was a midshipman on summer cruise.......even with the most ginger application of rudder, I felt like I was going to throw all the jets on the flight deck off into the sea :)
 
I saw a show when they were doing the proving runs for a carrier. Full speed and full right rudder. That think really leans into the turns. There would be know way to stand on the deck in that turn.
 
SuperScotty said:
How would they push a fireball off the side? Thats something I want in my job description!
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The jet on fire just gets shoved over the side of the deck and into the sea by the flight deck crash recovery crane, known as the Tilly. In the pic below, Tilly is shown being loaded by a shore crane onto the flightdeck of a carrier. It can pick up planes all on its own and move them, or even shove them over the side if need be.

Below is a basic training video covering the USS Forrestal fire in the Tonkin Gulf in 1967. Good footage from the flight deck cameras of the tragic scene of the flight deck explosions and fires that took the lives of 134 crew.

To this day, where Forrestal sits in Philidephia retired and partially parted out, workers there claim that ghosts of the dead can still be heard within the hull of the ship moving about, working, or opening/closing hatches.

[yt]U6NnfRT_OZA&feature=fvwrel[/yt]
 

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Thanks Mike, tragic, you can really compare that to modern navy practices. You never want to learn the hard way.

But side note I think I found my new motto when I'm studying for checks "Learn or burn baby, learn or burn"
 
They learned a lot from the Forrestal accident. It is a shame most things we learn in aviation or the military are written in blood.
 
Wow...I remember training for that when I was in the flight deck C.R.A.S.H. team on the LHA-2 Saipan. Those silver fire fighting suits steamed you like a potato in the heat.

Good job! :clap:
 
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