F-16 Fires on Elementary School

[Dean Wilkinson]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
Jersey shore township's police headquarters.

No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
the building when the bullets hit.

Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
building.

The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

[PS2727]

Well someone might have been praying in there.

[NW_PILOT]

And they think GA is a threat


"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
m...
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
>
> No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> the building when the bullets hit.
>
> Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> building.
>
> The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
>
> An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

[g n p]

A school 3 1/2 miles from an A/F firing
range???????????????????????????????????

________________
G. Paleologopoulos


"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
m...
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
>
> No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> the building when the bullets hit.
>
> Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> building.
>
> The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
>
> An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

[Stefan]

g n p wrote:

> A school 3 1/2 miles from an A/F firing
> range???????????????????????????????????

Yeah. Shut down those schools, they are a threat to security.

Stefan

[G Farris]

I think it proves we need 10nm TFR's around ALL SCHOOLS -
restrictions applying only to GA aircraft, of course.

[Bob Chilcoat]

"Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left only
puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the building."

Puncture Marks!? According to the Newark Star Ledger (a bastion of
journalistic accuracy)
(http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-18/109964233450600.xml)
eight rounds ended up in a classroom, and one went through a desk! 20mm
cannon rounds (even military ball practice rounds) don't leave "marks".

"We know a gun fired. We don't know why it fired," Webster said yesterday.
"The pilot was flying along, and the gun discharged."

As one who has accidentally hit his mike button on many occasions, I suspect
we can guess how it fired.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
America

"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
m...
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
>
> No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> the building when the bullets hit.
>
> Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> building.
>
> The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
>
> An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Bob Chilcoat" > said:
>"We know a gun fired. We don't know why it fired," Webster said yesterday.
>"The pilot was flying along, and the gun discharged."
>
>As one who has accidentally hit his mike button on many occasions, I suspect
>we can guess how it fired.

Wasn't there an F-16 pilot who accidentally ejected while he was trying to
use his piddle pack?


--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Crowds want to beat, journalists deserve to be beaten. Where lies
the problem?
-- Lars Syrstad

[Billy Harvey]

Paul Tomblin > wrote:
>Wasn't there an F-16 pilot who accidentally ejected while he was trying to
>use his piddle pack?

Yes, he had unbuckled his lap belt and placed it to each side, then
lowered his seat to get enough wiggle room to do his business. As he
was raising his seat back up, the lap belt was wrapped around the side
stick (I suppose it had an extension left in it that some of the fatter
boys needed - this pilot was a slim fellow). The lap belt started
getting pulled by the seat movement, causing the aircraft to go out of
control. Diagnosing the problem while unbuckled and pressed against the
canopy every other roll and while headed rapidly downhill was beyond his
ability so he stepped over the side.

Billy

[Franklin Newton]

I had no idea Falluja was in NJ.
"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
m...
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
>
> No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> the building when the bullets hit.
>
> Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> building.
>
> The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
>
> An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

[Dave S]

Billy Harvey wrote:
> Paul Tomblin > wrote:
>
>>Wasn't there an F-16 pilot who accidentally ejected while he was trying to
>>use his piddle pack?
>
>
> Yes, he had unbuckled his lap belt and placed it to each side, then
> lowered his seat to get enough wiggle room to do his business. As he
> was raising his seat back up, the lap belt was wrapped around the side
> stick (I suppose it had an extension left in it that some of the fatter
> boys needed - this pilot was a slim fellow). The lap belt started
> getting pulled by the seat movement, causing the aircraft to go out of
> control. Diagnosing the problem while unbuckled and pressed against the
> canopy every other roll and while headed rapidly downhill was beyond his
> ability so he stepped over the side.
>
> Billy

He EJECTED while not strapped into the seat???? Unless there is some
other connection mechanism here I am not following how he could have
survived?

[John T Lowry]

"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
m...
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
>
> No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> the building when the bullets hit.
>
> Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> building.
>
> The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
>
> An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

I thought President Bush was no longer on active flying status...

John Lowry
Flight Physics

[G.R. Patterson III]

PS2727 wrote:
>
> Well someone might have been praying in there.

If not, I'll bet they were right after the first bullet hit.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

[gatt]

"Bob Chilcoat" > wrote in message

> "We know a gun fired. We don't know why it fired," Webster said yesterday.
> "The pilot was flying along, and the gun discharged."

Reminds me of the old George Carlin skit: A guy shot his wife, kids, the
mailman, his neighbors, their kids and his boss. Told the police he was just
cleaning his gun and it accidentally misfired.

-c

[Icebound]

"gatt" > wrote in message
...
>
....
> Reminds me of the old George Carlin skit: ...

You may have seen George's latest fight with the combined forces of
free-enterprise-religion-censorship:

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,15245,00.html

[Ron Natalie]

gatt wrote:
> "Bob Chilcoat" > wrote in message
>
>
>>"We know a gun fired. We don't know why it fired," Webster said yesterday.
>>"The pilot was flying along, and the gun discharged."
>
>
> Reminds me of the old George Carlin skit: A guy shot his wife, kids, the
> mailman, his neighbors, their kids and his boss. Told the police he was just
> cleaning his gun and it accidentally misfired.
>
I think that's what happened to the royal family of Nepal a few
years ago.

[Chris]

This guy must be related to the B-52 pilot who buzzed Blackbushe instead of
Farnborough.

Friendly fire isn't friendly.

"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
m...
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
>
> No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> the building when the bullets hit.
>
> Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> building.
>
> The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
>
> An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

[NW_PILOT]

No No No No then no one would be able to fly at all their are to many
schools.


"G Farris" > wrote in message
...
> I think it proves we need 10nm TFR's around ALL SCHOOLS -
> restrictions applying only to GA aircraft, of course.
>

[BTIZ]

why do things like this always happen to the Jersey Guard... it seems they
have been in the news for something about every other year..

BT

"Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
m...
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
>
> No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> the building when the bullets hit.
>
> Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> building.
>
> The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
>
> An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.

[Bob Chilcoat]

IIRC, this guy was with the MD Guard. Lots of different guards use the
range in NJ.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
America

"BTIZ" > wrote in message
news:d%Uid.83007$bk1.61760@fed1read05...
> why do things like this always happen to the Jersey Guard... it seems they
> have been in the news for something about every other year..
>
> BT
>
> "Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
> m...
> > NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> > fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> > Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> > The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> > military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> > Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> > Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
> >
> > No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> > the building when the bullets hit.
> >
> > Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> > only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> > building.
> >
> > The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> > National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
> >
> > An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> > school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.
>
>

[Rob White]

I thought much the same of my kids primary school.

Rob
"Chris" > wrote in message
...
> This guy must be related to the B-52 pilot who buzzed Blackbushe instead
of
> Farnborough.
>
> Friendly fire isn't friendly.
>
> "Dean Wilkinson" > wrote in message
> m...
> > NEW YORK (Reuters) - A National Guard F-16 fighter plane mistakenly
> > fired off 25 rounds of ammunition at the Little Egg Harbor
> > Intermediate School in South New Jersey on Wednesday night.
> > The pilot was meant to fire the rounds some 3 1/2 miles away at a
> > military target range, Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt of the New Jersey
> > Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters in the
> > Jersey shore township's police headquarters.
> >
> > No one was injured as school was out and a lone custodian was inside
> > the building when the bullets hit.
> >
> > Damage was minimal as the non-exploding, 20 millimeter bullets left
> > only puncture marks in the school's roof and the asphalt outside the
> > building.
> >
> > The fighter jet was part of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air
> > National Guard assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
> >
> > An investigation is being conducted into how the pilot mistook the
> > school, located on Frog Pond Road, for a target range.
>
>

[BUFF5200]

Dave S wrote:
>
>
> Billy Harvey wrote:
>
>> Paul Tomblin > wrote:
>>
>>> Wasn't there an F-16 pilot who accidentally ejected while he was
>>> trying to
>>> use his piddle pack?
>>
>>
>>
>> Yes, he had unbuckled his lap belt and placed it to each side, then
>> lowered his seat to get enough wiggle room to do his business. As he
>> was raising his seat back up, the lap belt was wrapped around the side
>> stick (I suppose it had an extension left in it that some of the fatter
>> boys needed - this pilot was a slim fellow). The lap belt started
>> getting pulled by the seat movement, causing the aircraft to go out of
>> control. Diagnosing the problem while unbuckled and pressed against the
>> canopy every other roll and while headed rapidly downhill was beyond his
>> ability so he stepped over the side.
>>
>> Billy
>
>
> He EJECTED while not strapped into the seat???? Unless there is some
> other connection mechanism here I am not following how he could have
> survived?
>

Parachute harness straps are separate from seat belt/shoulder harness.