quote:

Originally posted by Gibb:

I still chuckle that they assign "tail numbers" to tail-less aircraft in the fleet.

Tradition

It doesn't seem like its been a year since this happened.

Someone told me the crash is showing up on Google maps now. I looked it up and and there it was. Here is a screen shot from my phone.

Good to see the Google spies are right on top of things with the possibly sensitive photos.

Now in other matters, the racially offensive name of the base...

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Good to see the Google spies are right on top of things with the possibly sensitive photos.

I didn't think they could move satellites around that quick (unless you are the CIA with unlimited funds).

That's wild.

I realize that aircraft like this 1) are incredibly expensive and 2) pack a fearsome load-out of destructive power; still, does anyone else cringe just a little to see that we have only about 20 such craft total?

^^^^^
Well…if you consider those 20 have more firepower and can wreak more havoc than the entire USAAF fleet in WWII, then 20 is probably plenty.

Just a spiff-ball thought…

^^^ Good point. I’m too stuck on newsreel footage / movies / etc. of the sky being full of a zillion B-17s and the like at once haha…

quote:

Originally posted by TheFrontRange:
I realize that aircraft like this 1) are incredibly expensive and 2) pack a fearsome load-out of destructive power; still, does anyone else cringe just a little to see that we have only about 20 such craft total?

19 after this crash. But I heard somewhere that they think it will only take 10 million to get it in the air again. So I bet they fix it.

What happens to the flight crew when you crash a billion dollar plane ? ( and live) Career ended ? Or depends on investigation and depends if mechanical failure or pilot error ? Or are you as a pilot silently or not silently blackballed ?

quote:

Originally posted by TheFrontRange:
I realize that aircraft like this 1) are incredibly expensive and 2) pack a fearsome load-out of destructive power; still, does anyone else cringe just a little to see that we have only about 20 such craft total?

We also have 70(ish) B52s at the ready. We're probably good.

Put it in context - the bomb load of a B17 was 4000 pounds. The bomb load of a B2 is 40,000 pounds. And the B52 has a max load of about 70,000 pounds.

quote:

Originally posted by walker77:
I didn't think they could move satellites around that quick (unless you are the CIA with unlimited funds).

Those aren't satellite photos. I forget the threshold, but most of the Google Maps/Earth imagery below a certain altitude will most likely be aerial photography.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:

Those aren't satellite photos. I forget the threshold, but most of the Google Maps/Earth imagery below a certain altitude will most likely be aerial photography.

They sent an aircraft up for this picture? lol Or is Google just slapping it's name on some new station chopper footage (which even that would be odd "Can we get clearance to fly overf your crash site?"

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
Put it in context - the bomb load of a B17 was 4000 pounds.

Put in the another context, this one mishap took out 5% of our B2 fleet.

(you'd have had to crashed 636 B17's to lose 5% of them)

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
What happens to the flight crew when you crash a billion dollar plane ? ( and live) Career ended ? Or depends on investigation and depends if mechanical failure or pilot error ? Or are you as a pilot silently or not silently blackballed ?

It depends. The AF conducts two investigations in an incident like this. A Safety investigation and a separate accident investigation. The safety investigation is initiated immediately by the closest Flight Safety Office. Pretty much as soon as the Fire Dept says the scene is safe the FSO secures the area, starts initial interviews, makes sure blood samples are taken, etc. If it is a major accident a full scale Safety investigation will be initiated, lead by a senior officer. Most of the physical evidence is collected during this investigation. You are required to talk to the Safety board and will not have any legal help/lawyer present. The Safety investigation report is only releasable to the Air Force/DOD and cannot be used to punish anyone.

The second investigation is conducted after the Safety investigation. This board uses the evidence gathered by the safety board but does not use any of the interviews or their conclusions. You don't have to answer their questions and can have a lawyer advising you. This is the board that produces the official report that is released to the public and recommends any punishment to the proper command level.

The investigations do not always come to the same conclusion. I know of one accident that resulted in the complete loss of a C-130 (it was a ground incident, no fatalities or major injuries) where the Safety board placed the primary blame on a mechanical issue and the AIB (Accident Investigation Board) placed the majority of the blame on aircrew error. In this case the Wing Commander thought the Safety report was more credible and chose not to punish the aircrew.

I should say that I was a trained Flight Safety Officer and conducted several low level investigations. I never had to investigate a major accident.

Why would Google leave that image up? Why would they pubish it in the first place? Assholes

Bandaged B-2 Returns To Birthplace For Repairs A Year After Landing Mishap

A B-2 Spirit has been ferried to Plant 42 in California for restoration a year after it ended up wing-down in the dirt.

BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK
PUBLISHED SEP 22, 2022 8:49 PM

A U.S. Air Force B-2 bomber nicknamed the Spirit of Georgia has touched down at Plant 42 in Palmdale California just over a year after skidding off the runway at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Today, the aircraft flew to Plant 42 after receiving temporary repairs at Whiteman, and will now undergo a more substantial restoration so that it can return to the fleet. The War Zone was the first to report on the initial mishap, which took place on September 14, 2021, and publish satellite imagery showing the bomber lying on the grass.

Photographer Tom Jordan grabbed the pictures of the Spirit of Georgia, also known by its serial number 89-0129, seen at the top of this story and below, as the bomber came in to land at Plant 42 earlier today. All of the B-2 bombers were built at Northrop Grumman's facility at Plant 42 and it is where they still go for all major upgrades and overhauls, as well as other large-scale maintenance...

Complete article with good photos:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-w...ce-for-major-repairs

“Fix it? How are you gonna fix this!?!
“Grit, spit and whole lotta duct tape.”

Seeing those pictures reminds me of that exchange between Alex and Skipper.

Kudos to the pilot who flew it back to Palmdale.

The B52 will pick up the slack, as it will always be around.