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Post by andypspotter on May 21, 2018 21:34:37 GMT
Courtesy of Scramble / FC:
Heads up! B-52Hs expected at Fairford.
By the end of this week (Sat 26/5) a deployment will start at Fairford bringing three B-52H Stratofortress bombers. The unit involved is most probably 5th BW from Minot AFB (ND). This because of transport aircraft coming to Fairford in the first half of this week originating from Minot AFB.
It is not known yet how long the B-52Hs will stay at Fairford.
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Post by andypspotter on May 27, 2018 8:58:08 GMT
In preparation for the arrival of the bombers, the following have visited over the past week:
06-6159 C17A arr 22/5 dep 23/5
N976BA B747 arr dep 23/5
N649GT B767 arr dep 25/5
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Post by yorky22 on May 30, 2018 10:48:32 GMT
Three B-1Bs arrived today mid morning
86-0098
86-0101
86-0119
credit RAF Fairford Movements group
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Post by andypspotter on Jun 7, 2018 21:29:50 GMT
Today (7/6), three became four, with the arrival of 86-0134 / EL.
That said, it is believed to be a fuel diversion (due to a tanker going tech.), rather than involved in the deployment.
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Post by andypspotter on Jun 9, 2018 10:20:12 GMT
The Air Force Has Grounded All Of Its B-1Bs Over A Fault In Their Ejection Seats.
An investigation into an in-flight emergency in May 2018 turned up the issue and the service doesn't know when the jets will be back flying sorties.
The U.S. Air Force has grounded its entire fleet of B-1B Bone bombers due to unspecified concerns about the aircraft's ejection seats and has no fixed timeline for when it will clear the planes to fly again. The decision comes as an investigation continues into an emergency landing involving the type in May 2018 and amid growing concerns about the readiness of the U.S. military aviation communities as a whole.
U.S. Air Force General Robin Rand, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees all of the service's combat-coded bombers, ordered the so-called "stand-down" on June 7, 2018. On May 1, 2018, a B-1B bomber assigned to the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base made an emergency landing at Midland International Air and Space Port in Midland, Texas after declaring an in-flight emergency. The incident involved a fire in one of the aircraft's engines and resulted in an emergency exit hatch coming off in mid-air.
"During the safety investigation process following an emergency landing of a B-1B in Midland, Texas, an issue with ejection seat components was discovered that necessitated the stand-down," Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees all over the service's combat-coded bombers, said in a brief statement on June 8, 2018. "As issues are resolved aircraft will return to flight."
As of May 18, the service continued to decline to say whether it had recovered the hatch or if there had been any actual malfunction in one or more of the plane's ejection seats, according to a report from Defense News. The bomber had a standard crew of four on board during the mishap, none of whom suffered any injuries. The swing-wing bomber was not carrying any weapons, the Air Force told the Midland Reporter-Telegram at the time of the accident.
Unconfirmed posts on the unofficial Amn/Nco/Snco Facebook Group said that the aircraft's Offensive Weapon Systems officer tried to eject, which caused the hatch to come off, but that their Advanced Concept Ejection Seat (ACES) II ejection seat failed. Additional notes indicated that the decision to make the emergency landing at Midland came after that individual became stuck and it remains unclear if the aircraft's pilot had ordered any of the crew to eject.
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