Increased pitch angle by the pilot while landing an E-4B aircraft at night on May 12 at Offutt AFB, Neb., caused the tail to strike the runway and incur damage, according to the results of Air Combat Command’s accident investigation. The tail and the lower fuselage sustained about $3.1 million in damages. The pilots and crewmembers were not injured. The members of the accident investigation board identified several factors that contributed to the accident, including pilot misperception of operational conditions and procedural error. E-4B aircraft serve as airborne command and control platforms for the President and Pentagon leadership during national emergenices. (Langley release) (AIB executive summary)
B-21 Temporary Shelters Could Also Shelter B-2s
March 5, 2021
The Air Force's experimental runway shelter for the new B-21 bomber is large enough to cover it or the B-2, and therefore reveals no information about the dimensions of the new aircraft. Two such shelters will be evaluated, but the maker of the second version hasn't been chosen yet.