Air Force believes fighter jet crashed in Gulf

Air Force officials say they believe an F-16 fighter jet has crashed in the Gulf of Mexico

A news release from Tyndall Air Force Base says the jet was on a routine training mission over the Gulf Thursday morning when the Florida Panhandle base lost contact with the pilot.

Aircraft and rescue forces were immediately sent to the missing jet's last known location.

No wreckage has been found, but officials are working under the assumption that the plane went down in the water. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the search and said in a news release that crews first responded to a location about 57 miles south of Panama City.

Air Force believes fighter jet crashed in Gulf

MODs please delete if already posted.

What does ATS think?? Little to no info right now to speculate on. But how does a military aircraft just vanish???

You think the AF would keep close tabs on there aircraft....

Maybe the pilot was doing a little water skimming..wouldn't be the first, and it all ended in tears. or it could be early days in the search.

a reply to: PraetorianAZ

There are a couple of threads talking about the age of the current US fighter fleet, and problems that are developing in them. The F-16 fleet at one point had 25% of them suffering from cracks in bulkheads and wings, and the F-16D, currently has longeron problems that can result in the aircraft breaking apart in flight, similar to what happened to an F-15C over Missouri several years ago.

The average age of the F-16 fleet is up to 23 years old, and others are even older. The F-15s, which are still the mainstay of the fighter fleet, are up to over 30 years old for the average age of the fleet. You don't even want to know about the bombers and tankers that we're still using.

ETA:

This particular aircraft was about to undergo conversion to a QF-16, which would convert it to an optionally manned configuration, eventually to be used as a target drone. That means that it was a previously retired F-16, that had been in the boneyard before being refurbised and returned to flight. Those aircraft frequently have some kind of problems with them, related to sitting in the desert for so long.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: PraetorianAZ
The average age of the F-16 fleet is up to 23 years old, and others are even older. The F-15s, which are still the mainstay of the fighter fleet, are up to over 30 years old for the average age of the fleet. You don't even want to know about the bombers and tankers that we're still using.

It's amazing how quickly the years fly by (what I did there,can you see it?) on these aircraft.I can remember seeing my first F16 at I think it was Greenham Common in the 1980s and thinking how futuristic it looked against other contemporary fighters.
At the same display (the Embassy Air Tatoo) when it moved to Fairford in about 2006 the B52 was doing it's display and the commentator remarked that even the Americans couldn't afford to replace it and there were plans to extend it's service life a LONG way into the future,and this could well be the first aeroplane to see active service for 100 years.What a truly mind boggling thought.

a reply to: Imagewerx

The current plan will most likely result in the B-52 getting new engines in the next few years, and flying until at least 2040. The current aircraft are all in their 60s, so that means the youngest of them will be 88 years old at retirement.

Just Googled it and I see it entered service in 1954,so even if they do 'only' reach their late 80s it's still a hell of an achievement.It's a shame we can't do the same with our Vulcans.

a reply to: Imagewerx

Unfortunately the fighter fleet isn't aging nearly as well. And with the current purchases, they're not going to be replaced any time soon at this rate.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thats crazy think how old some of the equipment the military is using. I guess if its broke fix it and keep using it untill it disintegrates.

You would think with milti million dollar pieces of equipment the Air Force would be able to track there planes a little better though.

But then on the other hand A lot of stuff goes "missing" in the military. Buddy of mine the other day "found" some Arty Sims out on base and brought them home for holloween fun..

a reply to: PraetorianAZ

They don't have 100% radar coverage of the Gulf of Mexico. They can only cover so much before they're over the horizon. They know where he was flying, based on the other aircraft, and the briefed flight area, but once he started to go down, depending on what happened, he could have ended up in a pretty broad area. You're not talking about a plane that was tracked for 100% of its flight, and was flying over an area where there are a lot of people. Any time a plane goes down over the water, it's considered missing, until they find wreckage.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Imagewerx

The current plan will most likely result in the B-52 getting new engines in the next few years, and flying until at least 2040. The current aircraft are all in their 60s, so that means the youngest of them will be 88 years old at retirement.

They better not be still lugging Nukes above North America!.....are they (wimper) ?
Regards, Iwinder

a reply to: Iwinder

The Air Force hasn't flown the nuclear mission since the 90s, which is why so many commanders are being fired over it. STRATCOM controls the nukes now. There's no longer a nuclear alert mission, although the B-52 and the B-2 are both nuclear capable, while the B-1 is no longer.

The pilot was killed when the aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. His remains were found and recovered from the water.

The pilot was identified as 58 year old Matthew J. LaCourse. He served 22 years with the Air Force, before retiring in 2000, and going to work with the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thanks for the update!

May the pilot r.i.p.

Since you mention that it wasn't tracked for 100% of its flight and we in the west are at heightened tensions with the east, and in an era of secret types of DEW systems and with the lack of a mayday call, could this incident remotely be in the realm of foul play by international players?

If it was, then would the military be forthcoming about that

a reply to: ForeverMan

No, it was an aircraft that had been in the Boneyard for several years, and was being refurbished to be converted to a flying target. They're running out of F-4s that can be used as targets, so they've begun using F-16s that are in storage. With them sitting for years with no fluids in the systems, and seals drying out, problems can crop up that may not be found until they're in the air. It's usually not something big, or something that they can get back home with.