28 Nov 16- CF-18 crash, Cold Lake - Pilot Killed

[The Bread Guy]

This just out ...

Media are invited to the public funeral of Captain Thomas McQueen.

What:  Military funeral to commemorate the life of Captain Thomas McQueen, a CF-18 pilot with 401 Tactical Fighter Squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta., who was killed on November 28, 2016 during a training mission. Four CF-18 Hornets from 3 Wing Bagotville, Que. will conduct a flyby during the ceremony. Following the service, a procession will travel along an extended Highway of Heroes to Ottawa, Ont., for the private internment of Captain McQueen at the Beechwood National Cemetery of Canada.

When:  11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Where:  Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
    9280 Airport Rd
    Mount Hope, Ont.

-30-​

Notes to editor / news director:

Out of respect for the family, media access to the ceremony will be restricted to designated areas both within and outside the venue. Media planning to attend are to be registered and at the main gate of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum no later than 10:30 a.m. As this is a military funeral, all attendees, including media, are asked to ensure they dress appropriately ...

 

[The Bread Guy]

This from the CF Flight Safety folks ...

CF188747 Hornet - From the Investigator

Report / November 28, 2016 / Project number: CF188747 - A Category

Location: Cold Lake Air Weapons, Alberta
Date: 2016-11-28
Status: Investigation Ongoing

Call sign “Swift 32”, in aircraft CF188747, was part of a two-ship formation led by “Swift 31” for an unopposed air interdiction continuation training mission. The mission objective was to deliver two MK83 inert bombs followed by two Laser Guided Training Rounds (LGTR), simulating laser guided bombs, in the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. To avoid the simulated bomb fragmentation after dropping their bombs each pilot would fly a “safe escape maneuver” comprising a 5 g level turn (which requires a 78 degree bank angle to maintain level flight) through 90 degrees of heading change.

The formation departed Cold Lake Airport (CYOD) and proceeded at low altitude under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to the target area, approximately 90 km east of CYOD. The accident occurred on the third weapons pass over the target, with Swift 31 flying about 2 miles in trail of Swift 32 and lasing the target  for Swift 32, who dropped an LGTR. The ingress to the target was flown at approximately 500 feet above ground level (AGL) to stay clear of an overcast cloud layer based at approximately 800 to 900 ft AGL.

Based on Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation (ACMI) data, Swift 32 released his LGTR then initiated the safe escape maneuver at about 450 ft AGL, entering a 5.6g left turn and rolling left to a bank angle of 118 degrees. The aircraft initially gained 50 feet of altitude before the nose of the aircraft began to slice towards and then below the horizon, eventually reaching a flight path angle (FPA) of minus 18 degrees.

The aircraft then began rolling right and the bank angle reduced to 77 degrees left bank, and the FPA reduced to minus 15 degrees just prior to ground impact. Swift 31 saw the explosion, confirmed visually that Swift 32 had crashed, noted a parachute at the side of the ground scar and transmitted a Mayday call, which was relayed to CYOD air traffic control by another flight of CF188s. There were no radio transmissions from Swift 32, he did not eject and was fatally injured when the aircraft struck the ground in a descending left turn.

The investigation is continuing to examine all the operational and technical factors that may have played a role in the accident.

(...)

Date modified:  2017-02-27

 

[dimsum]

CBC article about the investigation report.

Distraction, pilot error blamed in fatal CF-18 crash near Cold Lake, Alta.

Distraction in the cockpit was likely to blame for a fighter jet crash near Cold Lake, Alta., that killed a Canadian Forces pilot, an investigation concludes.

The final report on the CF-18 crash that killed Capt. Thomas McQueen in 2016 was released by the Department of National Defence on Friday.

It describes the crash as a "preventable accident" and recommends expanded training on low-level flight techniques.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/cf-18-fighter-jet-cold-lake-crash-thomas-mcqueen-report-1.4608199

Final DFS report:

http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/flight-safety/article-template-flight-safety.page?doc=cf188747-hornet-epilogue-flight-safety-investigation-report/izkjob7m

 

[Loachman]

CBC article about the investigation report.

Distraction, pilot error blamed

Silly CBC.

Flight Safety investigations determine cause factors, or the most likely cause factors when clear evidence is lacking, and do not ever assign "blame". The intent is to prevent future occurrences.

"Error" is not a listed cause factor. "Error" is extremely imprecise and unhelpful.

Most aircrew, especially those involved in certain types of military flying, will have close calls. Some will have very close calls. Others will never realize that they had one, or how close they came.

The differences between life and death in aviation are often measured in split-seconds and thousandths of an inch.

Some are killed by otherwise trivial things. Some survive things that should have killed them. Some are killed because of a chain of events that began many years before their final flight. Some are killed because of normal human physiological or mental reactions in abnormal circumstances; we did not evolve to fly.

Some of us are lucky; some of us many times over.

Others, unfortunately, are not.

 

[OceanBonfire]

CF-18 fighter pilot fined $2,000 after pleading guilty to flying too low

The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, January 22, 2019 10:15PM EST



COLD LAKE, Alta. -- A fighter pilot has been fined $2,000 after pleading guilty at a court martial to flying his CF-18 jet too low during a training mission in which his wingman died in a crash.

Capt. Christopher Mileusnic was the leader of a two-aircraft formation on Nov. 28, 2016, that was practising dropping bombs on targets near the Cold Lake weapons range in northeastern Alberta.

The rules for the low altitude mission required that the aircraft have a working heads-up-display -- a device that shows flight information that the pilot can read by looking forward at the canopy.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the pilots were under pressure to drop all of their bombs before returning to base.

Mileusnic's heads-up-display was flickering, not showing consistent altitude information as required by flight rules.

Despite the problem he continued making bomb runs with his wingman, Capt. Thomas McQueen.

"During the last target run, Captain McQueen flew the target run-in at 450 feet AGL with Captain Mileusnic in a three mile trail position. While conducting the safe escape manoeuvre, Captain McQueen inadvertently flew into terrain and died instantly," reads the statement of facts.

"The actions of Captain Mileusnic during the Swift flight are in no way alleged to have contributed to the crash and death of Captain McQueen."

At Monday's court martial Mileusnic pleaded guilty to flying an aircraft at a height less than the minimum height authorized in the circumstances.

He was also charged with negligently performing a military duty imposed on him and negligently committing an act deemed dangerous to life.

A military spokesman said the prosecutor decided not to proceed with the other charges following the guilty plea on the first charge.

The court martial judge then accepted a joint submission by the prosecutor and defence and sentenced Mileusnic to the fine.

An accident report released last April into the fatal crash suggested that McQueen was distracted and trying to see where a practice bomb had landed just before his CF-18 hit the ground.

The report said flight rules have since been changed to raise the acceptable altitude for such training to more than 300 metres and to underline safety standards for low flying.

"The low-level environment is an inherently hazardous and unforgiving region where only a few seconds of distraction can mean the difference between life and death," the report said.

A military publication says Mileusnic is an experienced pilot who has taken part in missions intercepting Russian Bear aircraft over the Arctic. He also once served with the Royal Air Force.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/cf-18-fighter-pilot-fined-2-000-after-pleading-guilty-to-flying-too-low-1.4265047

https://globalnews.ca/news/4877212/fighter-pilot-fined-cold-lake-air-force/