ISLAMABAD – A Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 was damaged during live-firetraining exercises at Vliehors Range on the island of Vlieland in thenorthern Netherlands.
The aircraft was operating with another F-16 when the incident took place.
According to a media reportlink,the Dutch Viper (as the F-16 is usually dubbed within the fighter jockscommunity) “suffered considerable damage” caused by its own ammunition.
A photo of damage to the aircraft shows deep longitudinal tears in whatappears to be the central fuselage of the F-16. The aircraft was reportedlydamaged in the rear section too. Although most details of the incident arestill unknown, some media described the event as a case of “plane shootingitself”.
The F-16 is armed with a General Dynamics M61A1 six-barrel, 20mm Gatlinggun. The gun is mounted on the left side of the fuselage, below and behindthe cockpit. The 248-pound gun is capable of firing up to 6,000 rounds perminute.
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The reported muzzle velocity of the F-16’s M61A1 cannon is “3,450 persecond”, while the top speed of the F-16 is about 2,200 feet per second or1,500 miles per hour. That makes the likelihood of an F-16 actually“catching” its own bullets in flight largely impossible.
Some aviation journalists are comparing this latest incident to a September21, 1956 incident when a U.S. Navy Grumman F-11F Tiger collided with itsown 20mm cannon shells in flight. That aircraft was completely destroyed inthe incident and the pilot was wounded.
