Most Expensive Crash Ever?

JSLTIGER · 02-22-08, 11:18 PM

Quote:

A B-2 stealth bomber crashed at an air base on Guam but both pilots ejected safely and were in good condition, the Air Force said.
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the wreckage at Andersen Air Force Base, said Geanne Ward, a resident in the northern village of Yigo who was on the base visiting her husband.
Ward said she didn't witness the crash but noticed a rising plume of smoke behind the base's air control tower.
She said crowds began to gather as emergency vehicles arrived Saturday morning local time.
"Everybody was on their cell phones, and the first thing everyone wanted to know was did the pilots make it out in time," she said.
A board of officers will investigate the accident.
Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build. All 21 stealth bombers are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri but the Air Force has been rotating several of them through Guam since 2004, along with B-1 and B-52 bombers.
The rotations are designed to boost the U.S. security presence in the Asia-Pacific region while other U.S. forces diverted to fight in the Middle East.
The accident occurred 11 days after a Navy plane crashed into the ocean about 20 miles northeast of Guam's Ritidian Point. Four aircrew members ejected from the EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft and were rescued by helicopter.
Guam is a U.S. territory 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.

Talk about some expensive pilot error...these guys won't be flying anything ever again...

Kapitan_Phillips · 02-22-08, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSLTIGER

Quote:

A B-2 stealth bomber crashed at an air base on Guam but both pilots ejected safely and were in good condition, the Air Force said.
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the wreckage at Andersen Air Force Base, said Geanne Ward, a resident in the northern village of Yigo who was on the base visiting her husband.
Ward said she didn't witness the crash but noticed a rising plume of smoke behind the base's air control tower.
She said crowds began to gather as emergency vehicles arrived Saturday morning local time.
"Everybody was on their cell phones, and the first thing everyone wanted to know was did the pilots make it out in time," she said.
A board of officers will investigate the accident.
Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build. All 21 stealth bombers are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri but the Air Force has been rotating several of them through Guam since 2004, along with B-1 and B-52 bombers.
The rotations are designed to boost the U.S. security presence in the Asia-Pacific region while other U.S. forces diverted to fight in the Middle East.
The accident occurred 11 days after a Navy plane crashed into the ocean about 20 miles northeast of Guam's Ritidian Point. Four aircrew members ejected from the EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft and were rescued by helicopter.
Guam is a U.S. territory 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.

Talk about some expensive pilot error...these guys won't be flying anything ever again...

Depends what caused the crash in the first place. Was it pilot error or electronic futz-up?

JSLTIGER · 02-22-08, 11:59 PM

They haven't said yet, but I don't see how the USAF is going to let anyone lose a $1.2 billion aircraft twice.

Kapitan_Phillips · 02-23-08, 12:01 AM

Did the same pilots lose two planes? In that case, maybe they will be relegated

nikimcbee · 02-23-08, 03:13 AM

I guess their insurance rates are going up next month

AkbarGulag · 02-23-08, 04:41 AM

Just hope it's an electronic failure, at least for the pilots sakes. But being so close to the airstrip when it happened? Well, even if they did stuff up, main thing is their alive.

Konovalov · 02-23-08, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSLTIGER

They haven't said yet, but I don't see how the USAF is going to let anyone lose a $1.2 billion aircraft twice.

Huh?

From the reports that I have read this is the first time a B2 has been crashed and lost.

JSLTIGER · 02-23-08, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konovalov

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSLTIGER

They haven't said yet, but I don't see how the USAF is going to let anyone lose a $1.2 billion aircraft twice.

Huh?

From the reports that I have read this is the first time a B2 has been crashed and lost.

Perhaps I should have phrased that differently...I don't see how the USAF is going to allow these pilots to be in a position where they could crash a second B-2.

I wish that they would release which B-2 it was (they all have names). I was fortunate enough to witness the flight of the Spirit of Pennsylvania when they named it at Willow Grove, PA back in 1997. It flew only a couple hundred feet overhead and did a barrel roll right over my head. Probably the most impressive thing I've ever seen.

Konovalov · 02-23-08, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSLTIGER

Perhaps I should have phrased that differently...I don't see how the USAF is going to allow these pilots to be in a position where they could crash a second B-2.

Ok, much clearer now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSLTIGER

I wish that they would release which B-2 it was (they all have names). I was fortunate enough to witness the first flight of the Spirit of Pennsylvania when they named it at Willow Grove, PA. It flew only a couple hundred feet overhead and did a barrel roll right over my head. Probably the most impressive thing I've ever seen.

Now you are just showing off.

Right now I envy you. Wish I could see and photo one over here in the UK.

DeepIron · 02-23-08, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Wish I could see and photo one over here in the UK.

Kinda defeats the "steath" part ya think?

XabbaRus · 02-23-08, 01:48 PM

If it wasn't pilot error and a technical glitch I can see no reason for putting the crew back on flight status and in another B-2.

Steel_Tomb · 02-23-08, 02:43 PM

I've seen one too, but it was a thousand feet or so in the air. Was over the UK too which I found really surprising. I wasn't mistaken either, close inspection with a pair of bino's confirmed it was a B-2! I was really really surprised.

goldorak · 02-23-08, 03:06 PM

How about start developing new generation bombers that don't cost 1.2 billion dollars each ? The problem of having such costly bombers is twofold : first your fleet is very very little (I don't think 30 B-2 even exist) and second each unit you loose impacts financially and operationally on your fleet.
It has no economic nor rationale sense.
Tell me one thing that a B-2 can do that isn't possibile with a B-52 ?
Using a B-2 is like using the shuttle for putting a satellite into leo. Completely useless when their is alternative tecnology or existing tecnology that does the same thing for a fraction of the cost.

Tchocky · 02-23-08, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSLTIGER

I wish that they would release which B-2 it was (they all have names). I was fortunate enough to witness the flight of the Spirit of Pennsylvania when they named it at Willow Grove, PA back in 1997. It flew only a couple hundred feet overhead and did a barrel roll right over my head. Probably the most impressive thing I've ever seen.

Last October I was walking home on an overcast day, heard an aircraft, and looked up. A B-2, banking lightly, skimmed out of the cloud cover for about three seconds, then slid back in. I'd say it was only a few thousand feet up.
I looked around the street, nobody else seemd to have noticed. Took me a while to realise it had actually happened

JSLTIGER · 02-23-08, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldorak

I don't think 30 B-2 even exist

There were 21, now 20.

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldorak

Tell me one thing that a B-2 can do that isn't possibile with a B-52 ?

Penetrate enemy airspace, drop bombs and leave all undetected.

02-22-08, 11:59 PM	#3
JSLTIGER The Old Man Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Parkland, FL, USA Posts: 1,437 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	They haven't said yet, but I don't see how the USAF is going to let anyone lose a $1.2 billion aircraft twice. __________________ Thor: Intel Core i7 4770K\|ASUS Z87Pro\|32GB DDR3 RAM\|11GB EVGA GeForce RTX 2080Ti Black\|256GB Crucial M4 SSD+2TB WD HDD\|4X LG BD-RE\|32" Acer Predator Z321QU 165Hz G-Sync (2540x1440)\|Logitech Z-323 2.1 Sound\|Win 10 Pro Explorer (MSI GL63 8RE-629 Laptop): Intel Core i7 8750H\|16GB DDR4 RAM\|6GB GeForce GTX 1060\|128GB SSD+1TB HDD\|15.6" Widescreen (1920x1080)\|Logitech R-20 2.1 Sound\|Win 10 Home

02-23-08, 12:01 AM	#4
Kapitan_Phillips Silent Hunter Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Swansea Posts: 3,903 Downloads: 204 Uploads: 0	Did the same pilots lose two planes? In that case, maybe they will be relegated __________________ Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into.

02-23-08, 03:13 AM	#5
nikimcbee Fleet Admiral Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Patroling the Slot. Posts: 17,952 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	I guess their insurance rates are going up next month __________________

02-23-08, 04:41 AM	#6
AkbarGulag Samurai Navy Join Date: May 2007 Location: cfgdatsimZOMGddstgasns Posts: 571 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 1	Just hope it's an electronic failure, at least for the pilots sakes. But being so close to the airstrip when it happened? Well, even if they did stuff up, main thing is their alive. __________________ "6 days into his patrol, the first enemy ship was spotted... a trawler... ...It was at this point, Captain AkbarGulag realised how green his crew was..."

02-23-08, 01:48 PM	#11
XabbaRus Navy Seal Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 5,330 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	If it wasn't pilot error and a technical glitch I can see no reason for putting the crew back on flight status and in another B-2. __________________

02-23-08, 02:43 PM	#12
Steel_Tomb Ace of the Deep Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Cambridgeshire - UK Posts: 1,128 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I've seen one too, but it was a thousand feet or so in the air. Was over the UK too which I found really surprising. I wasn't mistaken either, close inspection with a pair of bino's confirmed it was a B-2! I was really really surprised. __________________ _______________________________________________ System Spec: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz \| 4Gb Corsair XMS2 Dominator DDR2 PC-2 6400 RAM \| XFX GeForce 8800GTS 640mb PCI-E \| Creative X-fi sound card \| 250Gb HDD \| *Rest In Peace Dave, you will be missed.*

02-23-08, 03:06 PM	#13
goldorak Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 2,320 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	How about start developing new generation bombers that don't cost 1.2 billion dollars each ? The problem of having such costly bombers is twofold : first your fleet is very very little (I don't think 30 B-2 even exist) and second each unit you loose impacts financially and operationally on your fleet. It has no economic nor rationale sense. Tell me one thing that a B-2 can do that isn't possibile with a B-52 ? Using a B-2 is like using the shuttle for putting a satellite into leo. Completely useless when their is alternative tecnology or existing tecnology that does the same thing for a fraction of the cost.