B52 Emergency landing at Mildenhall

We had an unexpected visitor Monday...60-009 had an in air emergency and landed at Mildenhall. The #7 engine caught fire and the crew landed the beast with no incident. I wish I could show you pics but we cant take pics on the flightline....mmmhmm. Anyway, the fire burned through the engine cowling and made a mess. Two generators went offline. The FD emptied two trucks on her as it was a no snip fire.

I cant comment on any tactical or mission stuff, but what a beauty sittin on the runway. Needless t say, hoops were jumped and waivers granted aplenty getting her parked!!!!!

luv my job sometimes!

www.cambridge-news.co.uk...


As an aside...check out this video of an Su-27 intercepting said bomber over the Black Sea.

www.rt.com...


Ahh..... war games eh.

a reply to: lakenheath24

light enthusiast Tony Kelly watched the incident unfold at Woodstock Farm Campsite near Wereham, Norfolk, at around 7pm on Monday.

They have a Woodstock in the UK hmm

a reply to: lakenheath24

Number 5 was overheating, and #7 was on fire. They sprayed down the inboard pod while another crew was dealing with the fire in the outboard pod. Lots of pics, including ones where you can see the fire in the engine, but none are mine, so I don't want to publish any without permission.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I was 100 ft away....debriefed the crew. No panic....just a nonchalant meh. Lol

They were talking about replacing the Pratt&Whitney TF33 engines with BMW and Rolls-Royce design F130 engines (but
to be assembled in the US). With Trump demanding "America first" solutions, not sure that is still a plan option.

a reply to: lakenheath24

Yeah, I saw a shot of them running from the aircraft, but that's pretty much SOP. I figured they wouldn't be too worried about it. They can handle a six engine approach easily enough.

a reply to: Slichter

The money is in the budget request, but Congress wants a detailed plan from the Air Force, instead of the shotgun approach they usually use. They should see the first aircraft sometime around 2022 or 2023.

a reply to: Zaphod58

We tried to get them to pull off on the taxi way...no way...shut her down on the runway. Problem is we had no tow bar or someone tow qualified.

a reply to: lakenheath24

Yeah, I heard that they had to truck the bar up from Fairford. I was surprised to see they were able to get her moved by last night. Heh. Moving them off the runway, with narrow taxiways is always fun. Gotta have someone with a radio to talk them through turns.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I wanted to stay and do it but nah...didnt happen til way late. Funny how snip happens like clockworrk when it HAS too!

a reply to: lakenheath24

For years I would ride with Base Ops for launch and recovery. If they went down the centerline and followed the turn lines, the outboard gear would take out every light on the taxiway.

Then I decided drag chute detail was more fun.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Delta is extra wide so no probs there. That was my first chute packing experience..took 4 peeps. Getting old!!!!! I noticed the pilot left his window open for some reason. Sooooo, of course we had to climb up and close it.....we didnt pose for pics though.

Forgot what a sweet looking airplane the BUFF is, especially at night with a couple Light-alls on it.

a reply to: lakenheath24

We used to use two to pick them up off the runway. They aren't bad until you get to the clip. That thing is the killer. From what I've been told, up until the H, it was much easier to load the thing back after you pack it. There were changes to the internal structure on the H that required the chute to be moved making it harder.

My old outfit stationed in Iceland, 1973, had an old EC-121 divert there because of weather at Reykjavík. It broke a main axle on landing and I was one of the crew sent to repair it.

She's going to be there a good minute. The Air Force is having a hell of a time finding the required parts, and they're checking all 8 engines. They discussed going to the Boneyard for parts, but it was determined that would be difficult and expensive. So they might have to raid a cann jet to get the parts, and fly them in.

Why does the term Midnight Spares come to mind?

And now an E-3 makes an emergency landing with another TF33 engine fire. More parts shortage.

Looks like #7 was replaced, and now #8 is being changed. They're getting there.

Out of curiosity when is Mildenhall set to close and where is the refuelling wing and other assets going to be moved to ?

a reply to: lakenheath24

Come hang out with me at work here in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. We're not on Barksdale Air Base but we're close and they'll rattle windows in this very sound building once or twice an hour. And don't talk on your phone outside because they fly right over the top of us and you can't hear the person next to you. I used to hate it, but I've come to realize that nobody is getting close with those things around so it offers a piece of mind.