U.S. Navy to address F-14 fatigue problems

The U.S. Navy is continuing investigation of a crack found in a wing section test article of a non-flying F-14 Tomcat. They want to determine if the problem is fleet-wide or just an anomaly. The service is trying to stretch the life of the aging Northrop Grumman jet, set for replacement by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, to 188 percent fatigue life expended, or FLE.  The crack was discovered in June and marks the second one to be found in structural fatigue tests of the F-14's movable outer wings since 1997. The occurrence has raised red flags for the Navy and prompted inspections of operational aircraft when they come in for depot maintenance in Jacksonville, Fla.  Structural tests of critical components, which continue through the service life of an aircraft, are designed to define and analyze vulnerabilities, and to prevent them from developing into problems in the fleet. 

F-14 testing of this type began in the early 1970s, about the time the plane was first deployed. Structural modification kits for operational F-14s, called "time compliant requirement kits", were developed to guard against cracks seen in a ground test article called Aircraft 98. The service is looking for weaknesses in structure and trying to determine if they are only in the test articles or if they are flight representative and will require a fix on the aircraft. The Navy has begun testing up to 16 of the F-14s going through depot maintenance, and in November will begin a follow-on flight test program with instrumented aircraft at NAS Patuxent River, Md.  Although the F-14 will eventually be replaced by the F/A-18E/F, the delivery schedule has been delayed, forcing the F-14 to stay in service longer than planned.  

A concern for the Navy, and for the military as a whole, is to attract and retain qualified personnel to handle the engineering and maintenance decisions for the aircraft fleets. Problems arise not only because the aircraft are getting older and more prone to repairs and general overhaul requirements, but also engineers and technicians are in limited supply, a situation which is only going to get worse. About two-thirds of the top civilian technical workers will be up for retirement in the next five years.

F-14 crashes into neighborhood, kills five
January 29, 1996

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- A Navy F-14 fighter jet crashed into a residential neighborhood moments after takeoff Monday, exploding into flames and killing at least five people. Police and the mayor's office said those killed were the two crew members and three people on the ground. At least three homes were engulfed in flames.

The plane took off on a training mission from Nashville International Airport shortly before 10 a.m. It crashed moments later about 2.5 miles from the runway which is shared by the Tennessee Air National Guard. "It took off, went straight up and straight down," said Martha Bradley, a spokeswoman for the airport. Fire Department Lt. Wayne Renardson said it exploded into a "huge ball of flame."

Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen told reporters at the scene that emergency workers recovered the bodies of the two-man crew.  The Navy identified the pilot as Lt. Cmdr. John Stacy Bates, 33, of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The radar intercept officer was   identified as Lt. Graham Alden Higgins, 28, of Dover - Foxcroft, Maine.  Two of the people killed on the ground were identified as Elmer Newsom, 66, and his wife Ada, 63 who were in one of the homes destroyed by fire. Another unidentified man was found dead in the Newsom's home. The bodies were burned beyond recognition according to firefighter James Dean. "One guy was just sitting in his couch. He never had a chance," Dean said.  Local television coverage showed three homes on fire 30 minutes after the plane went down. A plume of black smoke could be seen for miles.

Several people witnessed the plane crash.

Don Isert, who was driving near the airport, said, "It was moving so fast I couldn't even tell what shape it was, and then this huge fireball erupted and the heat came through the glass of my car." Tammy Burgess, who was driving to a restaurant at the time of the crash, said she saw the plane flying low over homes. "I saw the plane go down so fast," she said. "In the blink of an eye, it exploded. It was terrible. Witnesses in the Luna Heights subdivision told of seeing the plane crash into the roof of a home. They said some houses were demolished. "It just tore the house into shreds," said witness Rick Seele. "There's jet parts all over the place."

In Washington, Navy officials confirmed the plane was an F-14 Navy Tomcat jet, a supersonic, twin-engine fighter, based at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego. It had flown into Nashville Sunday to refuel. The F-14 Tomcat is designed to attack enemy aircraft in all weather conditions and at night.