When I was a young, green, brand new pinned-on Captain, flying combat rescue HH-3Es out of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, a 'friendly fire' incident occurred in early 1990 with base aircraft.
An F-15 being ferried to a forward operating alert base at Galina was carrying a live AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, and launched it on another Elmendorf F-15 during an exercise enroute.
The pilot who ‘unintentionally’ fired the missile realized what was happening moments after he released the heat-seeking Sidewinder at Harris and urgently radioed him, then Sgt. David Haulbrook then said, reported Aviation Geek Club.
Harris, in the second F-15, took evasive action but was unable to completely avoid the attack. He was not injured, but his jet fighter suffered a significant amount of damage.
‘It took real good flying to get it back,’ Haulbrook said.
The accident took place on the first day of the Arctic Cover air war game exercises 150 miles west of Anchorage over the Stony military operations area. The exercise was cancelled after the mishap.
There are conflicting reports as to whether the pilot had been told of the live missile being loaded onto his aircraft. There are accounts he wasn't told, and reports he was and the situation was written up in the forms for the pilot to review before the flight.
Whether he was told or not, really doesn't matter -- the fact is there was a serious lack of procedure and professionalism which caused severe damage to a valuable aircraft, and could have killed another crew.
The pilot was suspended from flying, and several other personnel were transferred to other duties. The incident occurred March 19 while the two F-15s from Elmendorf Air Force Base were flying to to King Salmon, reported The New York Times in June of that year, reported a comment on F-16.net.
The wing commander was immediately fired over the incident according to my memory. I believe the maintenance squadron commander was also relieved of command. I could be wrong about that.
The point is, there was immediate accountability.
This type of consequence for the most part is now missing in the American armed forces.
The fact is, when you hire for skin color, or some other physical trait, instead of merit, you literally can't have this type of accountability or your whole ideology will collapse.
Perhaps this contributed to the recent 'friendly fire' incident over the Red Sea where an American F-18 was shot down by our own forces.
We await the 'immediate accountability' for that serious lack of procedure and professionalism.
