Attrition Report
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AIR COMBAT Command has released the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Report into the collision of two US Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt IIs over the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) last September 6 – see Attrition, November 2017, p73. The report identifies the aircraft involved as 78-0657 ‘WA’ and 79-0204 ‘WA’, both assigned to the 57th Wing’s 66th Weapons Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
The Accident Board President, Col Bruce E Munger, found by a preponderance of the evidence, the cause of the accident was an unintentional failure to adhere to established altitude deconfliction procedures. Substantially contributing factors included task over-saturation, misperception of changing environment, breakdown in visual scan and environmental conditions affecting vision.
The A-10Cs – tail number 79-0204 (Mishap Aircraft 1 [MA1]) and tail number 78-0657 (MA2), collided at 19.44hrs local time (L), over Range 65C on NTTR, 55 miles (88km) northwest of Nellis AFB. Both jets were rendered uncontrollable and the pilots (Mishap Pilot 1 [MP1]) and MP2 ejected. They suffer…
