C17 Totalled in Bagram

[ultrarunner]

If you're too tired to do the mission, pass it off to someone else.This isn't flame bait...but if you can't hack it, don't suit up.

Or take the uppers they give you and press on!

Either way it sucks....

Especially when you gettin your A$$ waxed!

 

[stonewall]

Don't scoff the uppers....and it does suck either way. But there's a world of difference between "this sucks" and "this is unsafe."

 

[semperfido]

aren't these sort of mishaps an inherent risk in military flying?

 

[viper548]

aren't these sort of mishaps an inherent risk in military flying? and isn't the reason because they are deemed an acceptable risk while many times pushing the operational limits of man and machine to accomplish complex tasks?

It gets old when every duty day is 22-24 hours.

 

[TonyC]

You were offered the mission, and you ponied up.

It must be a different Air Force than the one in which I served. I was never "offered" a mission. I was assigned. Not DNIF? Go fly.


The management is no different? I think you're missing a part of the dynamic here. Your "manager" in this case may very well have flown the same airplane on the same missions under the same circumstances, but that's no longer their priority. Their priority is get the mission flown, or they don't get promoted. It's not their life on the line, just their future.

Yes, it's the AC's responsibility - - 100%. But don't try to minimalize the external pressures to get 'er done.



Fly SafeLY !





.

 

[stonewall]

I agree that external pressures are there..from your commander, from your crew, from your peers. However, you can't go fly the mission and then say you were fatigued after the fact if it goes to s***.

Further, I DO NOT agree that most senior military leaders care more about their careers than the lives of their men. Are there some? H*** yes. But they are few and far between, poeple know who they are, and they usually fail in their goals.

 

[dispatchguy]

Which unit is that C17 from? A good friend of mine is over in the sandbox now, on the C17 (he's an AC from McChord), and should be rotating back stateside on a 2 wk on, 2 wk off rotation this weekend.


I think...

 

[Kikuchiyo]

Or take the uppers they give you and press on!

No uppers for AMC, regardless of duty day length or tactical/AR activities.

The jet is assigned to CHS, that much was in the news. The crew's identities haven't been released.

 

[Flt 525]

I appreciate Airlifters

Rampfreeze - A well written sitrep of life for Airlifters. I have been a passenger on many USAF flights into very dangerous areas and places (from C-130 landings on two-lane roads in Saudi Arabia to spiraling in from 10,000 feet in Iraq). I always wanted to be a military flighter but eyesight problems kept me from my dream (Have you seen me imagining I am flying a C-130, C-5 while I am piloting the B-58 Baron? Please don't laugh at me! I even tried to get the owner to paint the plane USAF Grey!). But every flight I have made with Airlifters has been successful. The crews for the most part treat a "wanna-be" with respect and answer a lot of dumb questions and even let me sit in the seat!!! Have I seen any crews at "dog-tired" level? Plenty. Once, only the flight engineer was awake when I went up front. Senses and the body must be alert to pilot modern aircraft (I may be preaching to the choir). Not only is a lot of rest required, but "proper" rest is needed. USAF officials would do well to look into the problem of inadequate rest areas for crews. Thanks Airlifters for getting me there and back home safely. I have never had to call for close air support so Airlifters are close to my heart (but I thank the good Lord for you fast burner pilots, too). LTC JRA

 

[Deuce130]

As someone who has been there and done that, I have to agree with Magnum. Comparing our military leaders to management is apples and oranges. I also have to say that most of my leaders in the AF wanted us to fly the sorties in order to GET THE MISSION DONE AND WIN THE F$*$ING WAR, not get promoted. I also disagree that their focus is not on the safety and well being of the men and women in their squadron. If it isn't, then they have no business in a leadership position and will probably won't last very long. Yeah, we can all point to examples of poor leaders, but I'd bet that most of us have had a lot more good ones than bad ones along the way. It's easy to point to every accident and say the crew was overworked or overtired. It's more difficult to get away from knee jerk reactions and to actually get the facts to determine what really went wrong and what really happened.

I also bet that 22-24 hour crew days are a pain in the a**. But, there are rules in place to ensure everyone gets proper crew rest and we're all responsible to make sure that those rules get followed. If they're not being followed or they're being abused, speak up. If that doesn't work, then try something else or just plain suck it up.