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HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- Hill Air Force Base officials continue to investigate what went wrong Thursday on a jet that caused the pilot to unload two external fuel tanks and a pair of bombs over the base. One of those bombs exploded in a remote area of the base, the other didn't.
Hill prepares to neutralize bomb
Officials at the base said they will destroy the second general purpose bomb Saturday morning.
"We have determined destroying the Mk-82 bomb in place is the safest method to neutralize the impact to our emergency response and recovery teams, as well as cause minimal environmental impact," said Col. Patrick Higby, 75th Air Base Wing commander. "We will use successive shape-charged explosives to detonate and render safe the bomb, which is buried approximately 17 feet underground. These explosions are going to begin Saturday morning. We want the surrounding communities to know they may hear or see emergency vehicles, explosions, and possibly plumes of smoke as a result of the detonations."
Officials said people living in the area will hear three blasts about an hour apart. During that time, the base's Roy gate near the 5600 South exits of I-15 (exit 338) and the Hill Aerospace Museum will be closed.
Pilot followed procedure
The pilot experienced trouble right after takeoff. Base officials said to control the plane he had to unload some of the weight he was carrying.
Hill Air Force Base officials said the F-16 pilot jettisoned both the bombs and the fuel tanks at the same time. The tanks tumbled through the air and landed in an open area to the south; the bombs glided over some facilities on the base before they landed in another open area just short of the Roy Gate.
One bomb that was supposed to be unarmed unexpectedly went off when it hit the ground, causing a blast that knocked the power out at the base, but causing no injuries or structural damage.
Colonel Scott Zobrist of Hill's 388th Fighter wing said the tanks and bombs were probably released when the plane was about 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the ground.
"We have years of flying the F-16 and many of our rules, unfortunately, are written in blood," he said.
He said pilots commonly practiced "flame-out" patterns, scenarios involving a failed engine.
"What we're trained to do is find the safest place to dispose of the ordinance so we can land the $25 million aircraft safely," Zobrist said. "Worst case would happen if he actually had ended up crashing the airplane because he failed to follow procedures and that would have been worse than jettisoning the unarmed bombs."
Zobrist said after the pilot experienced engine problems, shortly after takeoff, he immediately went to what he called a gliding position. Then he guided the aircraft back over the base, jettisoned the tanks and bombs while flying north, then turned back to the south to land.
Base emergency management said the jettisoned fuel tanks released approximately 500 gallons of fuel. Some of this fuel evaporated in the air and the remainder impacted a remote area on base. Hill AFB has contracted for environmental remediation of the fuel by excavating the soil.
The investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing.
Hill's neighbors react to munition explosion
Even though planes fly over their communities every day, the event has rattled a few nerves and raised some concerns. Roy City Attorney Andy Blackburn said it was something his city was likely to discuss, at some point, when more information comes in.
The freeway in the Roy area was shut down for a time Thursday while base officials worked to find munitions and a second fuel tank that was jettisoned. Air Force officials said an F-16 experienced engine trouble, forcing the pilot to jettison the tanks and ordnance in a remote area of the base. The plane landed safely.
Roy's Fire Chief John Ritchie said it was something they trained for. He said an ambulance crew was out on a call Thursday afternoon when they saw the F-16 and realized something was wrong because of its unusual approach.
"There's no concern saying ‘Are we ready?'" Richie said. "These guys fly two or three or four times a day over us. They're always our air, so we can have it happen any time."
Roy is just south of the Ogden-Hinckley Airport and Ritchie said two flight paths from the Salt Lake City International Airport cross over the city. Add to the mix I-15 to the East and railroad lines to the West, Ritchie believed the Hill jets don't add much more concern.
Jeff Harrop lives in Riverdale. He said his house shook, windows rattled and his kids were shocked, but it was all part of living near the base.
He said, "We live in an area where there's a lot of air traffic for military planes, and it doesn't bother me. I just kind of figure that's the price of freedom."
Others who heard the explosion said the pilot handled the situation well and they were glad the incident wasn't worse.
"Karlinda Smith said, "Nobody was hurt. So it's not the ideal situation to have something like that happen, but at least he was aware of what he was doing."
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Story compiled with contributions from Anne Forester, Paul Nelson and Marc Giauque.
