MILITARY FLIGHT ACCIDENTS DIP TO RECORD LOW; 68 CLASS A INCIDENTS RECORDED IN '97, U.S. REPORT SAYS.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services Despite a series of incidents last year, the number of serious accidents involving military aircraft was at a historic low, officials said Tuesday. In 1997, there were 68 of the most serious type of incidents - Class A accidents, including a midair collision at Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. that killed two - according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm. Such accidents are those resulting in death, permanent total disability, a destroyed aircraft or damage of $1 million or more. From 1975 to 1995, the number fell fairly steadily from 309 to 76, and the number of deaths decreased from 285 to 85, the GAO said in a report. In 1996, Class A accidents declined to 71, the Defense Department said. Human error was found to be a contributing cause in 73 percent of all such accidents in 1994 and 1995, the GAO report said. ``The value of Class A losses during the 1990s ranged from a high of about $1.6 billion in fiscal year 1993 to a low of $1.2 billion in fiscal year 1994,'' the report said. Rep. Ike Skelton Isaac Newton "Ike" Skelton IV (born December 20 1931) has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1977. A Democrat, he represents Missouri's At-large congressional district. of Missouri, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House National Security Committee, asked for the report. ``Military service is a dangerous career, both in war and peace. This report shows that safety continues to be a priority for our military,'' Skelton said. Among the fatal military aircraft accidents was the Oct. 22 midair collision between a T-38 Talon and a F-16 Falcon over an Edwards bombing range A bombing range is an area used for testing explosive ordnance and practicing to accurately direct them to the target. Bombing ranges are used for munitions that either explode or produce too much destruction to use at a shooting range, such as kinetic energy penetrators or very . The F-16 and the T-38 had been accompanying a B-1B bomber bomber Military aircraft designed to drop bombs on surface targets. Aerial bombardment can be traced to the Italo-Turkish War (1911), in which an Italian pilot dropped grenades on two Turkish targets. on a bombing test, and collided when the F-16 swerved to avoid birds that appeared in front of his jet. Killed were the T-38 crew, Lt. Col. William R. Nusz, a flight-test engineer assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron A squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, aircraft (including balloons), or warships. Army and Marines A cavalry squadron (horse or armoured) typically consists of three to five troops. , and Flight Lt. Leigh Alexander Fox, a Royal Air Force pilot who had been involved in an exchange program at Edwards since 1996. The F-16, with three feet of its left wing sheared sheared adj. Shaped or finished by shearing, especially cut or trimmed to a uniform length: a sheared fur coat. Adj. 1. off, was able to land safely on Rogers Dry Lake without further incident. |
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