Kansas Crash Not First Accident Involving Tulsa F-16 Jets

The crash of one of its F-16 fighter jets in southeast Kansas on Monday isn't the first high-profile mishap suffered by the 138th Fighter Wing in Tulsa.

On Monday, two F-16s from the wing collided near the town of Moline, Kansas, with one pilot ejecting before his plane crashed and the other landing safely back in Tulsa.

10/20/2014: Related Story: F-16s Collide Over Kansas; One Crashes, One Returns To Tulsa

Six years ago, one of the wing's F-16s accidentally dropped an inert practice bomb on a Tulsa apartment building.

3/14/2014: Related Story: F-16 Accidentally Drops Dummy Bomb On Tulsa Apartment Complex

On March 13, 2008, a flight of two F-16s took off from Tulsa International Airport to head to the Smoky Hill Gunnery Range near Salina, Kansas. The jets were each loaded with six 25-pound BDU-33 practice bombs. BDU is a U.S. Air Force acronym for Bomb Dummy Unit. 

The investigation revealed that as one of the F-16s made a climbing turn to the north to head to Kansas, one of the inert BDU-33s fell off its right wing, unbeknownst to the pilot of either F-16.

10/31/2014: Related Story: Air Force Release Report On Accidental Dummy Bomb Drop In Tulsa

Once at the bombing range, the pilots each flew passes where they dropped one bomb at a time. On his final pass, the pilot of the mishap F-16 was given a "no spot" by spotters on the ground. That meant neither they nor the pilot saw the bomb hit the ground. The other pilot checked over the first pilot's aircraft and confirmed all six bombs were gone, so the jets came back to Tulsa.

Once on the ground a weapons loader discovered evidence that the sixth bomb had not been properly ejected from its rack and an investigation began. The next day, the wing learned that a BDU-33 had landed on the Canyon Creek Apartments near 51st and Lewis. The people who lived in the unit weren't home and no one was hurt, but the bomb damaged the building and knocked out electricity.

The U.S. Air Force heavily redacted its official report on how the incident happened, but information left in the report suggests someone on the ground may have inadvertently loosened the bomb while checking to make sure it was securely fastened before the plane took off.