I was F-16 crew chief for 20 years and we had a similar IFE like this while stationed in Alaska. The Falcon can land in situations like this, only if it meets certain tech data requirements. The pilot landed at night with some reduced visibility due to the snowfall. EPU provides the pilot with electrical power and hydraulic pressure to control aircraft's flight surfaces. The pilot needs that to line up the aircraft with the runway.
Well done mate. Great flying and landing. You could have ejected but you stuck with it, your training and expertese paid off. I'd love to buy you a drink.
Fuel on board is super important when you're engine out. ATC: "Say fuel remaining is hours, souls on board, and nature of emergency!" Pilot: "...standby"
Viperdrver1088 it actually is really important, it lets the crash crew and fire department know what they are dealing with ahead of time and how big of explosion/fire they will face.
To anyone wondering about the fire response with reference to "Hydrazine"... it's a system built into some aircraft engines which generates power by way of combusting Hydrazine and water across a catalyst of iridium inside the engine, combusting and igniting the mixture which generates heat and pressure across the engine's turbine and is designed to restart the engine in a power failure. It's a compact system on fighters where space for an EPU is not available.
+Matthew Powell Not quite true. In this case, it is an EPU (Emergency Power Unit), which powers the hydraulics for flight controls and other essential systems in the event of a flame-out.
Yes, Matthew. I know a bit about the F-16 from having operated with them in major and minor exercises (plus the Gulf War). Each type can have a different arrangement. Multi-engine aircraft, of course, are less reliant on something like an EPU since most of the time they have one functioning engine.
@KatsToy pretty sure its all gravy, they prolly had previous contact/2ndary contact indicating mil bird in area. since its an f-16 it isn't too hard to figure out how many people are on board. agree with the fuel and epu call though. kinda critical and there was time on atc's end to roll trucks before he even lined up.
Nice job. My grandfather had to put a milsurp prop plane down on a road when he ran out of fuel decades ago. The girl he had with him still married him! :)
The F16 is actually an easier aircraft to land without an engine. Single engine craft do it all the time because they (clearly) don’t have a backup choice
Gliding a glider or cessna is TOTALLY different than trying to land an inherently unstable form aircraft like the F16 which literally just falls from the sky. This pilot was not only very skilled but even more so lucky that the runway was nearby and available for him as he had to have been losing altitude and stalling quickly which would explain the "WARN" constantly going off until he made a high speed final descent to create air speed to make a level approach.
F-16 has an EPU running on hydrazine. At 3:03 you can hear them warning the tower about this. This aircraft has no mechanical connection between the stick and control surfaces and has relaxed static stability on top of this. Without electrical power, there is no way to control it, hence the EPU.
Modern aircraft design blends the body with the wings, which helps with the aerodynamics and lift. Fighter jets in the past like the F- 4, according with some Vietnam vets crew chiefs, are not too good in that situation....good luck. It all depends on the aerodynamic design.
Others eject, even close to an airport. The taxpayers will get another one for me they expect. But this guy is a real man.. Saved the airplane from destruction.. Medal of honor for you. Most will say, fucked, thrash this jet over some farm or field, let the taxpayers pay for the crash, and another jet for me. fuckked....
