The film is at F_16_vs_bird_050808-HB.wmv
F-16 vs. Woodpecker
F-16 engine
ingests bird after takeoff at Tyndall AFB. Think
you might find it interesting to see a crash
from the cockpit of an airplane. It is an
instructor pilot in the rear and a student in
the front seat of an F-16.
A "Bird Strike,"
as seen through the Heads Up Display (HUD). You
can see the bird flash by just prior to
impacting the engine. You can hear the aircraft
voice warning system telling them they have a
problem and referring to the "D-6 NL" which
means there is no engine RPM.
They made two
attempts to relight the jet engine, but
evidently there was too much damage from the
bird strike and they had to eject. These guys
were very cool; note the heavy breathing... They
certainly flew longer than one would expect
before ejecting. Airspeed can be observed on the
HUD's upper left corner. It goes down to the low
120's as they struggle to get the engine going
again, but as the plane noses over and dives to
earth it increases to at least 175 just before
impact.
It just goes to
show how quickly your day can go to pieces - 45
seconds from strike to ejection. All and all,
not bad. They ran the Emergency Checklist, made
two relight attempts, and picked out a plowed
field for impact before ejecting.
You can follow
the audio attached to it and hear the
conversation between the pilot and instructor
pilot and then the tower. Including the pilot
saying they were punching out. The tower didn't
seem to completely understand it all, and missed
the significance of the last transmission.
The towers last
radio call, he's talking to an empty aircraft.
The video continues until impact, even after
they both eject. A classic "buying the farm" as
you can see the plow rows get bigger. A real
nice job from the aircrew by keeping their cool
and turning the aircraft away from populated
areas. No one hurt and no one killed but the
dirty bird did cost the Taxpayers a "few"
million dollars!
Amazing 45 second
sequence. You may have to replay to see the bird
that entered the engine. Go to large screen if
you can. This is footage from the cockpit of an
F-16. Cool reaction and professionalism of the
two pilots, including cockpit transmission with
video.