American fighter F / A-18E "lost" its fuel tank during takeoff

Taking off with a deck catapult is not an easy task. It accelerates 25-ton aircraft from zero to 130 knots over a distance of about a hundred and a half meters. As a result, the vehicle and its crew experience serious overloads exceeding four times the force of gravity. As a result, the aircraft may well lose some of its structural elements, which happened during one of the training flights.

A similar situation happened with the American fighter F / A-18E Super Hornet, which, during takeoff from the deck of an aircraft carrier, "lost" an additional fuel tank with a capacity of approximately 2100 liters. Outside observers recorded this incident on video.

It is assumed that the fuel tank was not securely fastened, or a malfunction of the electrical equipment caused it to be “shot”. However, it can be assumed that the pilot deliberately dropped the tank in an emergency in order to reduce the weight of the car and gain the speed required for takeoff.

In the near future, the American planes will be equipped with new tanks, in the bow of which it is planned to install an advanced infrared search and tracking system (IRST). It will allow you to efficiently determine the location of equipment, reducing costs during flights. It is assumed that combat aviation will receive a new system next year.

Comments

[GREG68]

It happens. That's why they are training. They will figure out what and why.

[Grandfather]

Business then, a tank fell into the sea ... we lost on the SU 24 runway ...

[silverwolf88]

Well, it happens ... and sometimes they lose their weapons ... the news itself is too small for a website ... well, unless you remember))) ... that with every loss of a fuel tank, Gretta Thunberg sheds a tear somewhere out there from which they took a few more minutes of her life))) ... and other "green terrorists" are indignant ...

[Uncle lee]

F / A-18E fighter "lost" its fuel tank during takeoff

And the pilot lost his ZIPPO .... Woe, then ....

[silverwolf88]

all kinds of garbage can happen ... my father, closing the window on the IL-14, lost his golden watch on takeoff))) that was certainly a nuisance ...

[loki565]

Yeah, when you lose yours it is always more pity)))

[Shuttle]

And what is this infrared search system there?

[tth]

What trifles, as far as I remember, they have not yet found all the lost nuclear charges

[nnm]

And I thought that in the army there is no word "lost", but there is a fairer ideomatic definition))

[Ros 56]

So this concerns people, but here is an airplane, you can't stick it to it, it is made of iron and has no thoughts.

[APASUS]

Not quite a rare incident, it happens.

In Yeisk, suspended fuel tanks of an aircraft fell on the territory of a former dairy plant. As a result of the incident, no one was injured, but the territory was cordoned off. This was reported to "360" by the press service of the Southern Military District.

[tralflot1832]

In the swamps of Florida, there is still a "waste" with a capacity of several megatons.

[BABAY22]

Reprimand Baku with a part order.

[NN52]

They will raise, wash and go to the cottage for water ...)))

[askort154]

NN52 They will raise, wash and go to the cottage for water ...)))

At my dacha from the Mi-6, for over 20 years

[askort154]

In 1961, the B-52 with two thermonuclear bombs on the bora fell apart in the air. Debris from bombs fell into a swamp (North Carolina). The bombs have not yet been found.
In the same year, a B-52 crashed in California. Two thermonuclear bombs were thrown when the plane hit the ground. Protective devices have prevented explosion and radiation leakage.
In 1966, both planes caught fire over Spain during refueling. Four thermonuclear bombs fell along with the B-52 enveloped in flames. Two collapsed, which led to r / active contamination of the territory.
So, the loss of a fuel tank - "seeds".

[NF68]

American bombers, there was a case, and nuclear bombs were lost. And here is just a hanging tank.