THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120324
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 55 lines
Navy investigators have recommended that no disciplinary action be taken against two pilots who managed to land their F/A-18 Hornet attack planes after colliding in midair April 23.
Although they found limited fault with one of the aviators who performed an excessive number of aileron rolls that led to the collision, ``the aircrew were operating the aircraft in a most professional manner,'' the investigators concluded.
``Negligence is simply not a factor.''
The inquiry, released in response to a request by The Virginian-Pilot under the Freedom of Information Act, was compiled for the Commander Naval Reserve Force in New Orleans, which is responsible for Composite Fighter Squadron 12, whose planes were involved. That squadron is used in an ``adversary'' role when the Navy trains other squadrons in aerial combat.
The heavily censored report indicates the collision was an accident, albeit an avoidable one.
The F/A-18s, valued at $18 million apiece, were scrapped after the accident, which occurred during combat maneuvers with F-14 Tomcat fighters about 60 miles southeast of Oceana.
In interviews after the collision, both pilots - Lt. Cmdr. William G. Stubbs, 32, and Lt. Cmdr. Greg S. Anderson, 33 - were careful not to cast blame on each other.
But the report makes it clear that Stubbs' aircraft was conducting a series of aileron rolls when it clipped Anderson's aircraft.
One portion of the report said the procedure ``violated a Naval Aviation Training and Operations Procedures (NATOPS) limitation by rolling the aircraft for a continuous 720 degrees during his second series of aileron rolls.''
The report also says, however, that such a regulation is contrary to another regulation, which states the aileron rolls are recommended to indicate to other pilots that the aircraft is a ``killed bogey,'' or simulated killed aircraft.
Stubbs' plane lost three feet of its left wing and the upper one-third of its left vertical tail. Anderson's plane had its nose cone sheared off and suffered extensive damage elsewhere. It was also missing its canopy.
The pilots nonetheless flew back to Oceana, completing a feat of airmanship that other aviators said bordered on the impossible.
``Although events can be explained, the complex and dynamic arena of air combat training can be very unforgiving during fractions of time where the demand for attention is being rapidly shifted from one critical task to another,'' the investigators reported.
``The aircrew's ability to return extensively damaged aircraft to home base demonstrates skill and dedication during complicated, compound emergencies with no clear-cut answers.''
Both men were reservists, Anderson on full-time duty and Stubbs in a drilling status. They have been returned to duty.
KEYWORDS: F/A-18 PLANE ACCIDENT PLANE U.S. NAVY
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