Pitch rate gyroscopes responsible for Singapore Air Force F-16 crash
The crash of a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-16 at Tengah Air Base in May was caused by problems with the aircraft’s fixed rate gyroscopes.
The news was…
June 21, 2024
The crash of a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-16 at Tengah Air Base in May was caused by problems with the aircraft’s fixed rate gyroscopes.
The news was revealed by Singapore’s Ministry of Defence in a final update, although the issue is not expected to impact other F-16s.
“The flight data recorder recovered from the crashed F-16 showed that its pitch rate gyroscopes gave erroneous inputs to the flight control computer. This led to the pilot being unable to control the plane at take-off,” said the Ministry of Defence. Lockheed Martin and the RSAF jointly contributed to the accident investigation.
However, as simultaneous failure of the aircraft’s four gyroscopes is “a very rare occurrence” (this instance marking the first such simultaneous malfunction of the equipment in the F-16’s entire 35 years of operation), manufacturer Lockheed Martin does not specify any maintenance on the item.
The pilot of the affected F-16 managed to eject safely. Although the RSAF had temporarily grounded its F-16 fleet, the outcome of the investigation will enable the type to resume flying, with each pitch rate gyroscope to be cleaned and checked before the aircraft return to service.
