Cracks Cause U.S. Air Force to Ground 82 F-16Ds

[unhappycamper]

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2014-08-19/cracks-cause-us-air-force-ground-82-f-16ds

Cracks Cause U.S. Air Force to Ground 82 F-16Ds
by Bill Carey
August 19, 2014, 10:15 PM

The U.S. Air Force on August 19 said that it recently grounded 82 two-seat F-16D fighters following the discovery of canopy sill longeron cracks between the front and rear pilots seats. An “immediate action time compliance technical order” the service issued after post-mission flight inspections revealed initial structural cracks led to the discovery.

Individual F-16 units conducted inspections of the service’s 157 F-16Ds, and as of August 18 all fighters had been inspected, the Air Force said. Cracks were discovered on 82; the remaining 75 returned to flight status.

The F-16D fleet is used primarily for training, the Air Force said. The fighters are 24 years old on average, with more than 5,500 flight hours. The service has 969 total F-16s of all variants; other variants are not affected.

“As aircraft accumulate flight hours, cracks develop due to fatigue from sustained operations,” stated Lt. Col. Steve Grotjohn, Weapons System Division deputy chief. “Fortunately, we have a robust maintenance, inspection and structural integrity program to discover and repair deficiencies as they occur.”