REPORT ISSUED ON FLIGHT FATALITIES; F-16 SWERVED TO AVOID FLOCK OF BIRDS, OFFICIALS SAY.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

The October midair collision that killed an Air Force colonel and a visiting British airman was the result of an F-16 pilot swerving to avoid birds that appeared in front of his jet, Air Force officials said Thursday.

The F-16 pilot had been focused on the B-1B bomber that he and the T-38 crew were accompanying on a bombing test, and he misjudged the distance separating his craft and the T-38, the report said.

``Human factors were a contributing factor in this mishap,'' said the executive summary of the formal report of investigation in the Oct. 22 collision.

The report was released Thursday by Air Force Materiel Command, Edwards Air Force Base's parent unit, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. No disciplinary action has been taken, officials said.

Killed were the T-38 crew, Lt. Col. William R. Nusz, a flight-test engineer assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron, 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 off, was able to land safely on Rogers Dry Lake without further incident.

The F-16 crew was identified as pilot Lt. Col. Richard Stevens, deputy commander of the 412th Operations Group, and Capt. Nicole Blatt of the 412th Test Wing, both based at Edwards.

The investigation could not determine the type or number of birds the F-16 pilot was trying to avoid.

Bird strikes have been known to cause jet aircraft crashes, such as a 1987 mishap that killed three members of a B-1B bomber crew, officials said.

``If a bird is ingested, a jet engine is so intricate that it could kill the engine,'' said Capt. Stephanie Holcombe, spokeswoman for Air Force Materiel Command. ``The F-16 only has one engine.''

The F-16 and T-38 had been following the B-1B to take photographs as it dropped dummy bombs over an Edwards bombing range, and the collision occurred as the planes were separating after the B-1B completed its drop, the report said.

The report faulted the air crews for not planning how they would break up their formation when the mission was over.

``The lack of a formation breakup discussion in the mission briefings was a contributing factor in this mishap,'' the report said.

The T-38 was positioned to the left of the bomber and the F-16 was on the bomber's right side, flying at 570 mph about 2,750 feet above the ground, the report said.

As the aircraft were breaking formation, the T-38 made a shallow turn to the left. The F-16 pilot glanced to his left to check the T-38's position and then began a left turn under the B-1B.

The F-16 pilot's focus was on the bomber, and from his initial look he believed the T-38 was 2,000 to 3,000 feet away when it was actually 2,000 feet or less, the report said.

The F-16 pilot also thought the T-38 was flying higher than what it was, the report said.

When the F-16's pilot pulled hard left to avoid the birds, the airplane closed the distance to the T-38 within three to four seconds, the report said.

The F-16's wing slammed into the other jet's cockpit, knocking both T-38 crew members from the aircraft. Neither had a chance to try to activate their ejection seats, the report said.

RECENT CRASHES AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE 

Nov. 12, 1996: A pilotless National Aeronautics and Space Administration high-altitude research plane called Theseus went out of control, broke apart and crashed on a small dry lake bed northeast of Rogers Dry Lake.

April 21, 1996: A pilotless Air Force reconnaissance prototype called DarkStar stalled after takeoff, hit the ground and exploded.

Jan. 20, 1995: A German pilot parachuted to safety from a joint German-American research jet called an X-31 after it went out of control because a speed sens16or iced up.

Aug. 16, 1994: An Air Force instructor pilot and a Swedish test pilot parachuted to safety after they were unable to pull their A-37 Dragonfly jet from a spin.

May 18, 1992: A Navy Mitsubishi MU2 cargo plane crashed on approach to the base's main runway, killing the pilot and a passenger, and injuring seven more occupants.

April 25, 1992: An advanced tactical fighter crash landed and burned after losing control while flying at low level above a base runway. The Lockheed Corp. test pilot escaped with minor injuries.

Oct. 10, 1991: Three airmen died when a UH-1N helicopter crashed during a parachute drop.

Jan. 14, 1991: Two airmen died when a UH-1N helicopter crashed during a night training mission.

Oct. 7, 1988: A NASA pilot suffered a broken jaw when he ejected from an FA-18 jet after its controls malfunctioned. The jet crashed in the desert north of Boron.

May 22, 1987: Two Air Force officers and two civilians died in a midair collision between a T-38 jet and a Cessna taking photographs northwest of Mojave.

SOURCE: Air Force, NASA

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BOX: (Box ran in AV only) Recent crashes at Edwards Air Force base (see text)