LOSSES
Compiled by Tom Kaminski- DHC-6-300 serial FAE-452 (c/n
560), operated by the Ecuadorian
Air Force, was damaged when it
ran o the runway at José Joaquín
de Olmedo International Airport in
Guayaquil, Ecuador, on June 12. - Mi-17-1 serial 417 (c/n 103M18)
operated by the Bulgarian Air Force
crashed near Krumovo air base
south of Plovdiv on June 11. Both
pilots were killed, and a third crew
member was seriously injured. - A US Air Force F-15C assigned
to the 18th Wing’s 44th Fighter
Squadron crashed into the Paci c
Ocean around 50 miles (80km)
south of Okinawa, Japan on June
- The pilot ejected safely but
su ered serious injuries. He was
recovered by a helicopter crew
from the Japan Air Self-Defense
Force’s Naha Rescue Squadron. The
pilot was participating in training
with six other Eagles when the
mishap occurred.- A Pakistan Army UH-1H crashed
and burned during an emergency
landing on June 7. One service
member died and six were injured
when the helicopter went down in
Quetta, Balochistan. - An Indian Air Force Jaguar,
assigned to 33 Wing, crashed in
Gujarat on June 5, killing the pilot.
The aircraft came down in a eld
near Beraja in the Mundra district
of Kutch shortly after take-o from
Jamnagar Air Force Station. - A Republic of China Air Force
F-16A was reported missing on June
- The F-16 disappeared from radar
about 30 minutes after take-o from
its base at Hualien and wreckage
was subsequently discovered in a
mountainous area of Nuannuan
District, Keelung. The pilot was killed.
- C-130H serial 7T-WHT (c/n
382-4911) operated by the Algerian
Air Force was destroyed in a landing
mishap at Mohamed Khider Airport
near Oumache on June 3. Eight crew
and passengers were injured in the
mishap, which reportedly occurred
when the Hercules overshot the
runway at the airport in north-
eastern Algeria. - FT-7N serial 3-7723, operated by
the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force,
crashed in Isfahan province on June
- Both pilots ejected safely before
the Chengdu ghter went down
near the city of Hassanabad in the
Jarqavieh Olya district.
- One pilot aboard AB212/AS serial
ANB-0305 (c/n 5176) was killed
when the helicopter crashed during
a training exercise on May 31. The
aircraft, which had been operated
by the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela,
went down at Puerto Cabello Air
Base following an apparent dual
engine failure. A second pilot
su ered serious injuries. - Two pilots aboard a Royal Saudi
Army AH-64D were killed when the
helicopter crashed in the south-
western Jizan province on May 31.
The Apache was reportedly shot
down by Houthi rebels.- F-5FM serial FAB-4811 (c/n
IH1006) of the Brazilian Air Force’s
1st Aviation Fighter Group crashed
at Santa Cruz, west of Rio de Janeiro
on May 24. The Tiger II went down
in a forest shortly after take-o
from Santa Cruz air base for a local
training ight. Both pilots ejected
safely and su ered on minor injuries. - An Indian Air Force Cheetah
helicopter crashed at the helipad
in Nathat op in Jammu and Kashmir
on May 23. Two crew and two
passengers escaped without
serious injuries. - Both pilots aboard a US Air Force
T-38C assigned to the 14th Flying
Training Wing at Columbus AFB,
Mississippi ejected safely before
the trainer crashed on May 23. The
Talon came down around nine
miles (14.5km) north of the city
of Columbus. - L-39ZA serial KhF1-14/37 (c/n
- operated by the Royal Thai
Air Force’s 41 Wing crashed near the
Bhumibol Dam in Sam Ngao district
on May 22. The Albatros trainer
came down on a golf course, killing
one pilot and injuring the second.
B-1B
GROUNDING
US Air Force Global Strike
Command grounded its
B-1B eet when it ordered a
safety stand-down on June- The order followed the
discovery of problems with
an ejection seat component
following the emergency
landing of a 7th Bomb Wing
B-1B that occurred at Midland
International Air and Space
Port, Texas, on May 1. During
the investigation of the
emergency landing it was
discovered that one of the
bomber’s four emergency
escape hatches had been
jettisoned but the ejection
seat had apparently failed to
re. AFGSC announced on
June 19 that it would resume
B-1B ight operations the
same week. ‘We have high
con dence that the eet’s
egress systems are capable
and the eet is ready to return
to normal ight operations’,
said Maj Gen Thomas
Bussiere, the Eighth Air Force
commander.
ROCAF
‘VIPER’ LOSS
Seen at Hualien in March 2014,
ROCAF F-16A serial 6685 was
the aircraft lost in a fatal accident
on June 4. The Fighting Falcon,
operated by the 401st Tactical
Composite Wing, had been
participating in the Han Kuang
military exercise. Hans van der Wilt‘BLUENOSE’
SQUADRON
REACTIVATED
THE ROYAL CANADIAN Air Force
(RCAF) activated 434 Operational
Test and Evaluation Squadron
under the command of the RCAF
Aerospace Warfare Centre (RAWC)
at CFB Trenton, Ontario, on May- Known as ‘Bluenose’ Squadron,
the unit assumed control over the
Helicopter Operational Test and
Evaluation Flight at 12 Wing/CFB
Shearwater, Nova Scotia, the Long-
Range Patrol Operational Test
and Evaluation Flight at 14 Wing/
CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia,
the Transport Operational Test
and Evaluation Flight at 8 Wing/
CFB Trenton, the Land Aviation
Test and Evaluation Flight at St-
Hubert, Québec and the Fighter
Operational Test and Evaluation
Flight at 4 Wing/CFB Cold Lake,
Alberta. The ights are respectively
tasked with conducting testing
of the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter,
CP-140 long-range patrol aircraft,
air mobility aircraft including the
CC-130J, CC-177, and CC-150,
tactical aviation helicopters such
as the CH-146 and CH-147F
and ghter aircraft. It will gain
additional responsibilities when
a new Search and Rescue Test
and Evaluation Flight stands up
at 19 Wing/CFB Comox, British
Columbia. It will be responsible
for the new xed-wing search
and rescue aircraft as well as the
CH-149, CC-130H Hercules, and
CH-146 SAR aircraft. An Aerospace
Test and Evaluation Flight will be
co-located with 434 Squadron
headquarters in Trenton. It will
be responsible for ground-based
aeronautical systems like radars,
navigational aids, meteorological
systems, and data links.
Although 434 Squadron will
be headquartered at the RAWC,
its associated TEFs will remain
co-located with the eets they
support. The activation was the
fth for the squadron, which was
originally formed in 1943 at RAF
Tholthorpe in Yorkshire, England.
Most recently, known as 434
Combat Support Squadron, it was
disbanded in 2002. Tom Kaminski
WORLD [NEWS]
http://www.combataircraft.net // August 2018 23
18-23 World News C.indd 23 22/06/2018 10:26