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.
The bomber fleet is turning in exceptional readiness and performance since it turned away from the continuous bomber presence and close air support mission, Air Force Global Strike Command chief Gen. Timothy M. Ray reported. In its new dynamic force employment role, the bomber is emblematic of how the U.S.…