Wednesday, March 14, 2012

More on the death of 'Neptunus Lex'


Readers will recall the tragic death last week, in an aircraft accident, of retired US Navy Captain Carroll LeFon, known in the blogosphere as 'Neptunus Lex'. There have been a number of developments in this case.

First, arrangements have been made for Capt. LeFon's funeral service. His colleague 'Whisper' posted on the late Captain's blog:

Captain Carroll “Lex” Lefon, USN (ret) will be interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, CA on March 27th at 1:00pm. The “Mighty Shrikes” of VFA-94, the squadron that Lex commanded, will conduct a fly-over.

The family has graciously invited Lex’s many friends and fans here at Neptunus Lex to attend. Their only request is that you consider carpooling due to limited parking at Fort Rosencrans.

Lex’s former employer, ATAC, is coordinating a charity that will be accepting donations in lieu of flowers. When details about charities and scholarship funds become available, they will be posted on Neptunus Lex. ATAC’s latest press release can be found here.

Condolences can be mailed to:
3525 Del Mar Heights Road #605
San Diego, CA 92130-2122


If you're one of the many who enjoyed Capt. LeFon's blog, may I respectfully request that you write to his wife and children at the address provided, to let them know what his words meant to you? It can't bring him back to them, but I hope it will show them how many lives he touched. (To give some idea of just how many, as I write these words, there are no less than 1,565 responses to the memorial thread at Neptunus Lex.)

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has just published its preliminary report into the crash. It reads, in full:

NTSB Identification: DCA12PA049
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Public Use
Accident occurred Tuesday, March 06, 2012 in Fallon, NV
Aircraft: ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES F21-C2, registration: N404AX
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors.
Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.



On March 6, 2012 at 0914 pacific standard time, an Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) Kfir F-21C2 single-seat turbojet fighter type aircraft, registration N404AX, operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) under contract to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) as a civil pubic aircraft operation, crashed upon landing at Naval Air Station Fallon, Fallon, Nevada. The sole occupant pilot aboard was killed, and the airplane was substantially damaged by impact forces and fire. The flight had departed Fallon at 0752 the same day, and attempted to return following an adversary training mission. The pilot initiated two Ground Control Approach (GCA) radar approaches to Fallon and then attempted to divert to Reno but was unable to land there as the field was reporting below minimum weather conditions. The pilot then turned back toward Fallon and stated to air traffic controllers that he was in a critical fuel state. The pilot descended and maneuvered first toward runway 31, then toward runway 13. The airplane struck the ground in an open field in the northwest corner of the airport property and impacted a concrete building on the field. Weather at the time of the accident was reported as snowing with northerly winds of 23 knots gusting to 34 knots, and visibility between one-half and one and one-half miles.


I note that very little is said in the NTSB's report about the role of Fallon's Ground Control Approach (GCA) facility in this crash. There was early speculation that errors by GCA may have been primarily responsible for the crash - for example, this was expressed by reader 'Quartermaster', both on this blog and at Capt. LeFon's blog. I've heard similar views from other milbloggers who've spoken to former colleagues at NAS Fallon. I note that Capt. LeFon reported (in passing) some problems with Fallon's GCA facility on March 3rd. I also note that those in authority appear to be studiously ignoring all such comments about the GCA facility at Fallon: which makes me suspect that 'where there's smoke, there's fire'. Other current and former US Navy personnel, former colleagues of Capt. LeFon, are hearing (and privately reporting) still more information that gives me pause for thought (and concern).

I guess we'll have to wait and see what develops. I only hope that those in authority don't try to cover anything up, or 'whitewash' the GCA facility or any other department at Fallon. Too many people 'on the ground' at Fallon have already talked to former USN colleagues of Capt. LeFon. Those colleagues are already sharing (widely) what they've learned, although I'm not prepared to reveal it in a public forum while it's still hearsay and not officially confirmed. (Others may be less restrained.) Suffice it to say that Capt. LeFon was popular enough that there are many, many eyes watching developments. One hopes the 'powers that be' are aware of that, and respond accordingly - because if they don't, there will be consequences. I don't believe it'll be possible for anybody to 'cover up' anything that happened.

Peter

5 comments:

Radagast said...

Thanks for that update Peter. It does have a feel of incompetence followed by cover up at this point. I hope I'm wrong.
Assuming GCA was the reason for the two missed landings and subsequent decision to divert then they played a major part in setting the situation for the crash.
Wrong actions admitted to will hopefully see a change in policy, training and behaviour.
A cover up will probably mean someone else will die.
Neither will bring back Lex. Which just sucks.

Anonymous said...

Preliminary reports are often just that. "Plane crashed here, this many number on board, here's the general flight plan and weather as best we know." There is no speculation permitted in an NTSB preliminary, or at least not in any that I've read thus far. So I will be optimistic and assume that the investigators are turning over every rock, not just the most obvious ones.

LittleRed1

Anonymous said...

Please don't jump to conclusions, good folks. Even in our pretty efficient Naval Aviation community, we take our time to consider all factors that might conceivably contribute to the loss of an aircraft. Especially when the pilot died.

I trust the NTSB will be just as exhaustive in their investigation of this accident.

I'm certain of several things:
1. Everybody involved was trying to do their best: there was no malevolence here.
2. Fallon is where we go to train; maybe the approach controllers do the same?
3. I've been saved many times in a jet low on fuel by Navy controllers. I COULD NOT HAVE LANDED SUCCESSFULLY WITHOUT THEM.
4. Sorry to shout.
5. Mother Nature is a bitch. Weatherguessers are as essential to aviation as pilots.
6.But they have less at risk.
7. The Kfir flies far differently that F/A-18s.
8. Lex was a supremely professional aviator. He did not have a death wish for himself or his airplane.
9. He wound up in a box he could not escape from.
10. A piece of my soul died when he did.

Leatherneck
Tom Carter

Mark said...

As a retired USAF Career Enlisted Aviator (C-130E/H/H1 Flight Engineer) I know first hand no accident is ever due to a single error. They happen due to a chain of events. Break the chain, and the crash/accident/incident will not happen. Let the investigation be thorough, and hope we never have a similar chain occur.

Quartermaster said...

I posted my take on the accident before the NTSB preliminary report came out. I sent the pic from the local paper to several retired military aviators and pretty much the same opinion came back.

I am still of the opinion that GCA is primarily responsible for this accident. I want to state categorically, however, that does not make them at all evil. Navy GCA controllers do not have experience with a very wide variety of aircraft as the Air Force used to have. Nor do the aircraft preform at the much higher speeds of the Kfir. It was common for GCA controllers to have aircraft out of position (A former F-4 driver came out of the soup in Europe a half mile to one side of the runway after he had been told he was in good position and on glide slope). Navy GCA controllers routinely landed Lex long, or had him overshoot, which would place out of position horizontally.

In the end, GCA ran him out of gas, and he was out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas, as they say in the fighter mafia.

Frankly, I'm appalled the Navy does not some kind of ILS with localizer, so the pilot can make the instrument approach himself. lacking such places them behind major airports that have such, and certain approaches can be flown totally on auto-pilot if the aircraft has auto-throttles. It's sad to think the Navy's premier Air Station does not have the same capability as a high grade general aviation airport. GCA precision Approach Radar was fine in the 50s and 60s before ILS systems became available. If Fallon had the equipment it should have, Lex might be alive now.

I fault GCA for execution (with the understanding that Lex was flying an aircraft that gave them fits), but I fault the Navy for not properly equipping its airfield with the equipment it should have had.

RIP, Lex. I hope to see you on the other side.

Quartermaster