- 10 Jun 08, 01:54#47793
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=577367
The air crash that destroyed a $1.5 billion US stealth bomber is now in the public domain with the release of classified video that shows the aircraft bursting into flames.
The footage shows the jet accelerating for takeoff, then stalling, rolling left into the ground and exploding into a fireball.
The two crew members ejected moments before impact, with the pilot receiving minor injuries and the co-pilot treated and released from an Army medical centre in Hawaii after receiving a spinal injury.
The US Air Force has released a report into the incident at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, citing the bomber's air data system provided wrong information to its flight control computers.
"Moisture in the aircraft's Port Transducer Units during air data calibration distorted the information in the bomber's air data system, causing the flight control computers to calculate an inaccurate airspeed and a negative angle of attack upon takeoff," the report said.
But Major General Floyd L Carpenter, who headed the investigation board, said an unconventional technique learned several years ago may have prevented the crash.
The technique basically heats the aircraft's sensors prior to takeoff, evaporating any water before data is calibrated.
"This technique was never formalised in a technical order change or captured in 'lessons learned' reports," he said.
"Hence, only some pilots and some maintenance technicians knew of the suggestion.
"The human factor of communicating critical information was a contributing factor to this mishap."
The Air Force put the cost of losing the B-2 at $1.5 billion and it was the first one lost since the aircraft's maiden flight in 1989.
There were plans for a fleet of 135 of the aircraft but that was revised to just 21 following the demise of the Soviet Union.
