Belgian F-16 completely destroyed due to Technician mistake. The Belgian Air Force F-16 fighter had burned in a fire during maintenance when technician accidental opened fire from another F-16 fighter fighter
The F-16 was destroyed, 2 people were injured. Another F-16 has minor damage. The incident happened at around 2:10 pm local time on Thursday.
Two technicians who were performing maintenance on the plane when the explosion occurred were injured. They are suffering from hearing problems following the blast, SudInfo reported.
2 injured, F-16 destroyed in an explosion during a ground maintenance at the Florennes military base in Florennes, Belgium pic.twitter.com/kaE2WSPXT8
— خالد (@khalid_pk) October 11, 2018
A fire at an airbase in Belgium, which resulted in the destruction of an F-16 Fighting Falcon jet, might have been caused by a personnel member who had opened fire from a fighter, located at the same maintenance area, by mistake, local media reported.
As a result of this accidental firing, the F-16 fighter, filled with kerosene, had exploded, the RTL Info broadcaster reported. “We can assume that there has been a human error or a technical fault. In any case, we have not been informed about an intentional act,” Boris Morenville, the head of the SLPF Defense trade union said, as quoted by the broadcaster.
This is how Israel modified F 16s to get 45+ Kills in combat
One person, who had sustained hearing damage due to the incident, had been hospitalized, Didier Di Giovanni, serving at the Florennes base, said, as quoted by RTL Info.
On Thursday, the Belgian Air Force said that the F-16 fighter had burned in a fire during maintenance at a base in the Belgian municipality of Florence while another aircraft had sustained collateral damage. The activities at the base had been suspended until Friday, the reports suggested, adding that a federal inquiry into the incident had been launched.
The broadcaster noted that a new F-16 cost 40 million euros ($46.3 million) so the destruction of the aircraft represented a significant loss for the Belgian Armed Forces.
Breaking news!! At Florennes air base (Belgium) an F-16 Fighting Falcon was completely damaged due to a fire which broke out during maintenance work. Two people are reported to be injured. Read more at https://t.co/UCddkzegDU pic.twitter.com/9UPeW2aBV3
— Scramble (@scramble_nl) October 11, 2018
I was under the impression that the F-16 Falcon COULDN’T fire it’s M61 gun while the landing gear is down and weight is on its wheels? Iron Eagle notwithstanding. Although the F-16 obviously fired its gun. Why wasn’t the weapon(s) safety’s on? Maybe that was part of the technical fault? Hope more details come out (but I’m not very optimistic).