Spangdahlem F-16 was in controlled crash landing

  • Published
  • By Louis A. Arana-Barradas
  • Air Force Print News
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  The F-16 Fighting Falcon that crashed near Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, had a landing gear problem that forced its pilot to do a controlled crash landing.

The crash was not an accident, 52nd Fighter Wing commander Col. Darryl Roberson said. The colonel held a press conference Sept. 16 near the cordoned-off crash site to give an update on the Sept. 14 incident.

The pilot, 1st Lt. Trevor Merrell, 28, of the 22nd Fighter Squadron, could not resolve the gear problem and had to bail out of the fighter, the colonel said. He had to crash land his jet.

"It was a controlled bailout in that the pilot had an opportunity to prepare for the ejection," the colonel said. "That's exactly why it ended up in the middle of a field and did not impact any buildings or hurt any people."

The lieutenant, of Mountain Green, Utah, was on a training mission. He flew the jet to the field near the town of Oberkail, which is about 10 miles north of the fighter base. The region, known as the Eifel, has many rolling hills and wooded areas and is dotted with small towns and villages.

"Those are the facts that we know," Colonel Roberson said. "What caused it, how it happened -- we don't know. The safety investigation board will figure that out."

Colonel Roberson did acknowledge to a German reporter that Oberkail had been at risk during the situation.

"That's a natural concern and we worry about that, too," said the colonel, who took command of the F-16 and A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter wing in June.

He said Germany has many small communities and that the country has few areas that are "clear of everything." But the Air Force does its best to analyze the region to determine the best places where aircraft can do these kinds of landing, he said.

"And in this case, it was a controlled flight so we could end up here, in the middle of clear field," he said.

It took base and German first-responders just 20 minutes to reach the crash site. By then, most of the fuel and other fluids on the aircraft had burned in "the fireball created by the crash," the colonel said. Emergency crews also recovered the bottle of volatile hydrazine aboard the jet.

Colonel Robeson, who is a command pilot with more than 4,200 flying hours -- 366 in combat -- in the F-4 Phantom, F-15 Eagle and the F-16, said the cooperation between base and local officials during the crash investigation has been "nothing short of spectacular."
The good working relationship between the base and local community "represents a cornerstone of the success of being able to deal with this crash," the colonel said.

Air Force and German officials will continue to work to secure the evidence of the crash site. Air Force and German security forces are also maintaining security at the crash site, which has a 5,000-foot cordoned off area, to maintain evidence. The colonel said it could take a while to collect all the debris.

In the meantime, the accident investigation board, comprised of Airmen from bases throughout Europe, arrived at the base Sept. 16. But it will be weeks before the board releases the cause of the mishap.

"It's unfortunate that this situation had to happen," Colonel Roberson said. "But given the circumstances, it worked out as best as we could have hoped for."