That Mig-23 landed to take on some fuel at the long-closed Eaker AFB in Blytheville, Arkansas, about 70 miles NE of my home about a day before Oshkosh. A buddy of mine text me a pic of it.

I said, "The Mig-23 has always been a POS. I can't believe it hasn't crashed yet."

Oops.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

I like 'warbirds,' but I don't think civilians should fly that particular model of aircraft. I believe it to be inherently unsafe.

There's a handful of videos and commentary where a pilot gets into the cockpit of a Mig-23, and then they end up commenting on how rudimentary the layout is, how the dials, switches and knobs aren't arranged in a logical manor. To the Soviet designers credit, their designs are rugged, so maintenance can be handled by a conscript of limited education and parts swapping is very common. Unfortunately, cockpit layouts are not a strength of Soviet aircraft, as pilot feedback was of limited value; gen-4 Russian aircraft have evolved, after all they were the first to utilize helmet-cueing technology.

Here is a news report that features interviews with the boaters that rescued the pilot and back seater.

It was refreshing to see that while most people reached for their phones to video when the crew left the jet, at least two people understood that the priority was the people floating down to the water and took immediate action to save them.


https://www.clickondetroit.com...t-michigan-air-show/

In the latest report it sounds like the pilot was still trying to get things back under control when the rear seat guy said bullshit and hit eject. Watching the videos it certainly looks like his time to figure it out was up.

NTSB Preliminary Report: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-re...estReport/192855/pdf

Watching that video it certainly sounded like the jet was producing thrust and the angle is bad but it didn't look like it was falling out of the sky or out of control.

It sure looked and sounds like the RIO (or whatever the Russians call them) decided he had had enough turbine time and called it a day.

Monday morning qb says that the final report won't be real congratulatory on how this was handled. Maybe they were going down but there is a big difference from losing thrust and it won't go into afterburner. anybody know if they were losing altitude the whole time? I ask because the pilot stated they climbed which indicates some power or trading airspeed for altitude. Either way the backseater definitely made a decision.

Just a guess. When in afterburner, the exhaust nozzle at the rear of the engine is fully open to accommodate the extra thrust. when the afterburner is shut down the nozzle should close,if it fails to close, even though the engine is operating at 100% it doesn't provide enough thrust to maintain level flight. A flip of a switch in the cockpit would
activate the emergency nozzle closure system. Sometimes you can successfully reselect afterburner with a open nozzle but relights are
rare. That's my SWAG

Forgive my ignorance. Aviation is just a hobby of mine so I am still learning.

Is the Mig 23 the one that doesn’t actually have a real fuel gauge but rather a device acting basically like a clock that accounts for throttle and run time adjusts accordingly? Meaning a fuel leak or improperly running turbine could result in incorrect readings?

I thought the ejection seats had to be removed from ex fighter planes?

^^^Pretty sure that's just for static displays, not for fighter jets that are still flying.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Forgive my ignorance. Aviation is just a hobby of mine so I am still learning.

Is the Mig 23 the one that doesn’t actually have a real fuel gauge but rather a device acting basically like a clock that accounts for throttle and run time adjusts accordingly? Meaning a fuel leak or improperly running turbine could result in incorrect readings?

I believe that is correct. The fuel level is set after fueling and the gauge drops based on burn rate and time.

NTSB released the preliminary report. Watch the video below but the summary is as follows:
- Aircraft took off and performed a knife edge pass
- Aircraft departed show area to align for a second pass before landing
- Afterburners did not ignite and engine was not providing expected power
- Wings brought to 16 deg and turned back to airport
- Back seater (pilot rated) asked about ejection
- Pilot in Command (PIC) indicated he was diagnosing
- PIC was actively diagnosing when his seat fired and he exited the jet

Ward Carrol review


Mover's review

Somebody owes somebody an airplane.

Awkward conversation in the water maybe?

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

Delta must be paying well.

That's all I could think about through the whole thread.

i think the guy who ejected did the right thing, although it's too bad he didn't come out and admit it.

^^^How can you possibly know that?

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
^^^How can you possibly know that?

Hi. I don't know it as fact, it's what I think happened. Loss of speed at low altitude is a dire emergency. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether the bad engine could be quickly spooled up, if that was the problem, but it seems like low percentage. It may turn out that reasonable corrective measures were available. Just reminds me of general aviation when losses of power after takeoff are commonly made worse as the pilot unsuccessfully tries to limp back to a runway approach, instead of looking for a suitable place to ditch.

I wonder who gets stuck paying for the clean-up? I hope it's the owners and or pilots, not the taxpayers.

It seems to me that the backseater pulled the handle too soon. One thing I know after years of flying in helicopters, is that the pilot doesn't want to die any more than you do. I'd have waited for him to make the decision.

What is the minimum ejection altitude for those seats?

^^^^^^^^^ That's a good question, I'm sure the crew knows the answer.

There's a lot of open real estate around Willow Run. The pilot may have had the time to fly the plane to an open area to eject, ensuring the plane couldn't hurt anyone on the ground, not leaving it to dumb luck.