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B-1 grounding prompted by Ellsworth bomber incident

Associated Press


ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. - The nation's fleet of B-1B Lancer bombers was grounded and is being checked after the nose gear collapsed on a B-1 from Ellsworth Air Force Base, an Air Force spokesman said.


The fleet was grounded Friday. Maj. Dave Honshul, at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, said the one-time inspection of each plane should take a few days.


Honshul said the Dec. 13 incident involved an Ellsworth jet in Southwest Asia. He said the crew had shut down the engines after landing when the nose gear collapsed.


The extent of damage to the bomber has not been made public. No one was injured.


The Air Force has 67 B-1s in operation and all were grounded as part of the investigation, said Honshul. Most of the operational bombers are at Ellsworth or at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.


The grounding will continue until inspections are completed, Air Force officials said.


The Air Force has about 30 other B-1 bombers in reserve.


It marks the second major malfunction of a B-1 since the air war began in the Middle East after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.


On Dec. 12, 2001, a B-1 crashed into the Indian Ocean near the island of Diego Garcia. A cause has never been determined.


The crew had reported having difficulty controlling the bomber. All four crewmen ejected safely, including the pilot and co-pilot, who were from Ellsworth. The aircraft was destroyed

Why no date on this article?

I spend my day editing through posts. Wondering how on earth could i keeping you in suspense <img src=newicons/anim_lol.gif border=0 align=middle>

Cheap Entertainment The Sleazy Mr Mudd way.

"The power to Destroy the planet, is insignifigant to the power of the Air Force----Mudd Vader

This article was from a few weeks ago...I read it on the USAF news site....I believe they are flying again....

<img src="http://img23.photobucket.com/albums/v70/prkiii/70th.jpg" border=0><img src="http://img23.photobucket.com/albums/v70/prkiii/Mav_shot.jpg" border=0><img src="http://img23.photobucket.com/albums/v70/prkiii/25.jpg" border=0>

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Thanks for the additional info, without an article date I did not know exactly when the grounding went into effect...


CAG out...


PS - Mudd, you always keep me in suspense... <img src=newicons/icon_hog.gif border=0 align=middle>



Edited by - CAG Hotshot on Jan 29 2005 9:00 PM