LOOP News

4 OCT 06: SLINGSBYS SMASHED

"A SENSELESS waste of tax dollars!" That's the angry view of pilots in Texas - and elsewhere - to the news that the US Air Force has destroyed all 110 of the Slingsby T-3 Firefly single-engine piston aircraft it bought for training pilots.

Reports say the aircraft were in flying condition when they were put into storage at a USAF base in Hondo, Texas nine years ago after a series of training accidents.

The Slingsbys, which cost $32 million when bought, were systematically smashed to pieces by excavators in mid-September. The composite fuselages and wings were reduced to shards of fibre-glass, and the engines destroyed by a plasma torch.

No attempt was made to salvage components, despite a reported proposal by the local branch of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) to recycle parts such as engines, avionics, instruments, wheels, brakes, seats etc. Everything was destroyed because the USAF was worried about liability.

The fully aerobatic Firefly was used to expose trainee pilots to advanced handling but suffered from a fuel problem which caused the engine to stop when throttled back - this happened 66 times. Six people were killed in three crashes for other reasons. The aircraft were grounded in 1997.

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LOOP News

4 OCT 06: SLINGSBYS SMASHED