RSAF F-16 crash at Tengah Air Base caused by aircraft component malfunction; fleet to resume flying: Mindef
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The Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) F-16 crash at Tengah Air Base on May 8 was due to an aircraft component malfunction, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) stated in a press release on Saturday (May 18). American aerospace and defence manufacturer LoRSAF F-16 crash at Tengah Air Base caused by aircraft component malfunction; fleet to resume flying: Mindef
The Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) F-16 crash at Tengah Air Base on May 8 was due to an aircraft component malfunction, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) stated in a press release on Saturday (May 18). American aerospace and defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LM) and the RSAF had conducted investigations following the crash of the F-16 last Wednesday and determined the cause of the accident to be the simultaneous malfunction of pitch rate gyroscopes. «The flight data recorder recovered from the crashed F-16 showed that its pitch rate gyroscopes gave erroneous inputs to the flight control computer,» the statement read. «This led to the pilot being unable to control the plane at take-off.» According to the release, all F-16 fighter jets are fitted with four such gyroscopes. The simultaneous failure of gyroscopes is «very rare», so LM has no stipulated maintenance for the component. Mindef also stated that this is the first such simultaneous malfunction of the pitch rate gyroscopes for the RSAF's entire F-16 fleet over the course of their 35 years of operation.