NAS Patuxent River, Md. –
During the last at-sea period prior to deployment, a flight of four AV-8B Harriers launched from an amphib on a long-range night interdiction mission. The flight plan called for a strike on a training range using laser-guided training rounds, plus aerial refueling from a section of tankers before and after the strike. Although all aircraft were equipped with targeting pods, once airborne the division discovered only Dash-3’s was working.
The flight encountered intermittent meteorological conditions during the transit, which caused the first tanking evolution to take longer than expected. The weather wasn’t getting any better closer to land, and the four Harriers needed air traffic control handling to pick their way over the target area. The flight lead deemed the weather sufficient to conduct the low-altitude option of the strike plan, however, Dash-3’s laser pod wouldn’t designate the target. After several unsuccessful attempts, the flight lead called for the flight to return to the ship.
The flight proceeded to the tanker track for post-mission tanking, encountering more clouds along the way. As the division closed on the leadtrail formation of tankers, the Harrier flight lead requested the tankers “drag” the flight north toward the ship’s position. The flight lead also directed Dash-3 and -4 to join on the trail tanker, but because of confusion over the location of the trail tanker, the entire division wound up joining on the lead tanker. Eventually Dash-3 and -4 dropped back, hampered by the clouds but able to find the trail tanker.
Dash-3 engaged the trail tanker but was unable to receive fuel. The tanker crew directed him to back away from the basket as they attempted to reset the hose, after which the Harrier was still unable to take on gas. Dash-3 made several more attempts to engage the hose. The flight lead, with his own tanking complete and now flying off the trail tanker’s right wing, noted how long Dash-3 was taking and detached Dash-2 and -4 to return to the ship. The flight lead then asked the Dash-3 pilot for his fuel state. Only then did Dash-3 realize his fuel had dwindled below bingo state, and he asked the flight lead how far it was to the divert field. The flight lead determined the ship was now 35 miles closer than the divert field and therefore was the better option.
Twenty-eight minutes had passed from Dash-3’s first attempt to plug by the time he assumed the lead and started a bingo profile to the ship. Using the TACAN for navigation, the section closed the ship, but neither pilot was able to visually acquire it because of intermittent cloud cover. The ship’s controllers were unable to assist because the air traffic radar was inoperative.
The flight lead, now acting as Dash-3’s wingman, spotted the ship just long enough to direct the other pilot’s attention before they both lost sight of it again, which only served to further disorient both pilots. By the time they leveled off, the section was in a lead-trail separated by several miles. The flight lead was running out of ideas, so beseeched the LSO to find them, adding his best guess was his section was in a left-hand turn approaching final bearing. Meanwhile, Dash-4, one of the two jets the flight lead had detached earlier, gave up on attempting a visual approach and pushed from overhead the ship on a Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) approach.
After rogering the earnest request from the flight lead, the LSO scanned the skies aft of the ship and did, in fact, spot two aircraft, but the formation he saw was actually the flight lead followed by Dash-4 on TACAN final, not Dash-3. Dash-3, still out of visual contact with the ship, followed the LSO’s directions, which caused him to fly further away from the ship. On short final, Dash-4 realized the LSO had mistaken him as Dash-3, and he executed a wave-off, which, in turn, caused the LSO to realize the airplane under his control was not Dash-3. The LSO requested Dash-3’s fuel status, and Dash-3 replied, “My gauges are reading zero.” Seconds later the Harrier flamed out, and the pilot ejected. He was rescued with minor injuries by the ship’s search and rescue helo. The other jets recovered without incident.
