LOSSES
Compiled by Tom Kaminski- Eight personnel were recovered
after a US Navy C-2A crashed in
the Philippine Sea on November
- The Greyhound was carrying 11
passengers and crew en route to the
aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
- One pilot was killed and another
injured after a US Air Force T-38
crashed around 14 miles (23km)
north-west of Laughlin Air Force Base,
Texas, on November 20. - Peruvian Air Force Mi-17-1V
serial FAP-614 (c/n 419M24) was
heavily damaged in an emergency
landing after an apparent bird strike
on November 18. Three injuries were
reported among the 24 crew and
passengers when the helicopter
went down near Canayre in Huanta
province. - C-130H serial M30-14 (c/n 5311)
operated by the Royal Malaysian Air
Force was damaged in a wheels-up
landing caused by a landing gear
malfunction on November 18. The
crew circled for six hours to burn off
fuel before making the emergency
landing at Labuan International
Airport. No serious injuries
were reported. - An NH500E operated by the
Italian Air Force’s 72° Stormo at
Frosinone was heavily damaged when
it rolled over during a forced landing
in a field on November 14. Both pilots
were injured in the mishap, which
occurred south-east of the air base,
near Ripi. - SA342M serial 4019/GAY (c/n 4019)
operated by the French Army’s 3e
Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat
(3rd Combat Helicopter Regiment)
was heavily damaged when it made
a hard landing at Bar le Duc Airfield in
Les Hauts-de-Chée on November 13.
Three crew and passengers suffered
minor injuries. - Three personnel aboard an Iraqi
Air Force Mi-17 were killed when the
helicopter crashed during a training
flight in the al-Shouija region of
eastern Iraq on November 11. It went
down east of the city of Kut. - The pilot of an Iranian Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps
Aerospace Force Su-22 was
killed when the aircraft crashed on
November 11. The mishap occurred
near Sarvestan in the Fars province of
southern Iran. - Mirage 2000-5Ei serial 2040
assigned to the Republic of China
Air Force’s 499th Tactical Fighter
Wing crashed into the South China
Sea during a training mission on
November 7. The pilot ejected safely
and was rescued near Pengjia Islet
by an ROCAF S-70C around 40nm
(74km) off the coast of Keelung. - T-35 serial 151 (c/n 237) operated
by the Chilean Air Force was
heavily damaged in a wheels-up
landing on October 27. Neither
pilot was seriously injured when the
Pillán came down on a bank of the
Cachapoal River south of Rancagua. - The pilot of a US Army MH-47G
operated by Alpha Company, 4th
Battalion, 160th Special Operations
Aviation Regiment (Airborne), was
killed in an emergency landing on
October 27. The mishap occurred
after the Chinook struck a tree in
the Kharwar district of Afghanistan’s
eastern Logar province. Six
personnel aboard the helicopter
were injured. - A People’s Liberation Army
Air Force JL-9 trainer crashed in
northern China following a reported
bird strike on October 25. Both
pilots survived. - Both pilots aboard Argentine Air
Force G120TP serial E-509 (11029)
ejected safely from the trainer
before it crashed on October 19. The
student and instructor pilot were
unable to recover from a spin during
a training flight. The Grob came
down near the town of Alta Garcia
in Córdoba.- F-4EJ Kai serial 87-8408 operated
by the Japan Air Self-Defense
Force caught fire while it was taxiing
to the runway at Hyakuri Air Base
in Ibaraki Prefecture on October
- Both crew escaped safely from
the aircraft. Although the fire was
extinguished, the Phantom was
written off.
- Both pilots aboard an AH-64D
operated by the United Arab
Emirates Air Force and Air Defence
were killed when the helicopter
crashed on October 17. The Apache
went down in Yemen’s al-Jawf
province. - UH-60J serial 58-4596 operated
by the Japan Air Self-Defense
Force crashed into the Pacific Ocean
around 18 miles (30km) south of
Hamamatsu, in central Japan’s
Shizuoka Prefecture, on October 16.
The crew of four, which had been
conducting a night-time search and
rescue training flight, was killed. - A US Air Force MQ-1B reportedly
crashed near Kunduz, in northern
Afghanistan under unknown
circumstances on October 14.
LIGHTNING ROUND-UP
First Japanese-built
F-35A arrives at Misawa
The first F-35A assembled locally
in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries (MHI) at the company’s
Komaki South final assembly and
check-out (FACO) facility arrived
at Misawa Air Base, Japan, on
November 2. The Japan Air Self-
Defense Force-owned Lightning II
(pictured below), which is was flown
by a US Air Force pilot assigned to
the Defense Contract ManagementAgency (DCMA), was en route to the
United States where it will undergo
the required final functional
tests. The tests are required to
ensure all future Lightning IIs
produced in Japan meet design
and performance specifications.
The F-35A was escorted across the
Pacific Ocean by F-16Cs from the
Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 176th
Expeditionary Fighter Squadron,
which were returning from a
deployment to Korea.First Norwegian F-35As in-country
The first three operational F-35As
for the Royal Norwegian Air Force
arrived at Ørland Main Air Station
on November 3 at the end of a
ferry flight that began at Lockheed
Martin’s production facility adjacent
to NAS Fort Worth Joint Reserve
Base, Texas. Norway has taken
delivery of 10 F-35s and seven of the
Lightning IIs are supporting training
efforts at Luke AFB, Arizona, where
Norwegian pilots are in training.
Serials 5148, 5149 and 5150 were
formally accepted by Norway’sDefence Materiel Agency during
a ceremony on November 10. The
Norwegian government plans
to purchase up to 52 F-35As and
will accept six aircraft annually
beginning in 2018.Maiden flight for
Italian-built F-35B
The first Italian-built F-35B
conducted its maiden flight
at Cameri on October 25. The
Lightning II, serial number MM7451
(c/n BL-1), was rolled out of the
Cameri final assembly and check-
out (FACO) facility in May. The
aircraft operated in STOVL mode
and hovered over the runway for
the first time during its third and
final acceptance flight on October- The F-35B will be flown to
NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, in
early 2018, where it will undergo
additional testing that includes
electromagnetic environmental
effects certification. Tom Kaminski
USAF/SrA Brittany A. Chase
23
January 2018 http://www.combataircraft.netWORLD [NEWS]
18-23 World News C.indd 23 23/11/2017 11:55