Space bubble. by Barbie Kunkelova

Damage in F-16s of about $112 million. Two pilots dead, eight times loss of more than $1 million, one pilot dead due to an Iraq combat & though, he was on a real mission & so his death doesn't count. The amount of the flights has rapidly decreased over the past few years but still the number of fatal crashes keeps going up. Ten "class A" crashes only during the years 2006 through 2007 (until September). The rate of these is 3.18 per 100,000 flights. It was stated by an Air Force official that the main element which fails up there is the human instinct. Human error. That was the case of four of the crashes; the other failed element was the engine. Every time before the F-16 (the Fighting Falcon) departs, the pilots are told to stay on the alert at all times, not to allow the comfort of the view to overwhelm them; the trainers are constantly trying to improve the human side of flying. Some experts think the cause pilots get nervous is the Iraq threat nowadays (pilots also get exhausted by flying at any time of the day, during any kind of weather). F-16 is, according to Wikipedia, a lightweight fighting multirole jet. It was developed in the US for the Air Force. Its maiden flight was in year 1974; the cost of these planes varies between $14 million to $19 million. It is supposed to be very airy inside the F-16 & the cockpit looks like a glass bubble. Such a great view, updated engines… So why so many crashes happen? The producers, users and repairmen of the F-16s are only human beings. And human beings tend to learn best by their own mistakes, right?

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071022/ap_on_re_us/f16_crashes;_ylt=AkBEwlhh_Az4rksJDhXxIsys0NUE

by Barbie Kunkelova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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