Air Force investigators have determined that pilot mistakes caused the crash of an E-9 aircraft at the Tallahassee Regional Airport in Tallahassee, Fla., on May 1. “Checklist error and cognitive task oversaturation substantially contributed to the mishap,” Air Combat Command said in a release Sept. 3 on the findings of the accident investigation board. “These factors, when combined, impaired the instructor pilot’s ability to maintain situational awareness while providing flight instruction to the upgrade pilot.” As a result, neither pilot lowered the aircraft’s landing gear for a touch-and-go maneuver during the routine training mission. There were no injuries. The E-9 and instructor pilot are assigned to the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Fla. The upgrade pilot is a civilian contractor. The E-9 is twin a turboprop aircraft based on the Bombardier de Havilland Dash-8 commuter transport that the Air Force uses to support weapons evaluation activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reports: DOD Planning to Draw Down Forces in Middle East
June 21, 2021
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to draw down the number of fighter squadrons in the Middle East while also withdrawing missile defense systems as part of a broad shift in the U.S. military’s force posture in the region. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III informed the Saudi regime that Terminal…