Degraded components caused malfunction of RSAF F-16 flight control system
On 8 May, an F-16 jet belonging to the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) crashed at Tengah Air Base.
RSAF F-16 jet crashes at Tengah Air Base, pilot conscious & receiving medical treatment
Subsequent investigations found that degraded components in the aircraft caused the flight control system to malfunction.
RSAF has since implemented additional measures to prevent similar incidents from reoccurring.
2 of 4 gyroscopes in F-16 jet gave inaccurate but similar inputs
In a statement issued on Wednesday (19 June), the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) noted that the aircraft’s Digital Flight Control System failed to work during take-off.
The pilot was unable to control the jet safely as a result.
The root cause of the malfunction was traced to pitch rate gyroscopes that degraded due to “wear and tear”.
Each gyroscope comprises a mechanical spinning rotor set within gimbals, which detects rotation rates.
In particular, two of the aircraft’s four gyroscopes gave “erroneous but similar inputs” to the Digital Flight Control Computer.
As a result, the flight control logic accepted the identical inaccurate inputs as “correct”. It also sequentially rejected the inputs from the working gyroscopes as “incorrect”.
Engineers to enhance checks on F-16 gyroscopes
Moving forward, RSAF engineers will periodically remove gyroscope assemblies from the planes and test them using specialised equipment.
This will increase the chance of engineers detecting early signs of degradation and allow the gyroscopes to be replaced pre-emptively.
“This measure is over and above the prescribed aircraft manufacturer’s maintenance procedures,” MINDEF wrote.
The RSAF resumed flying of the F-16 fleet on 21 May.
Source: The Republic of Singapore Air Force on Facebook
Before this was allowed, each aircraft’s flight control gyroscopes were checked and cleared.
Also read: RSAF F-16 crash at Tengah Air Base linked to component malfunction, fleet to resume flights: MINDEF
RSAF F-16 crash at Tengah Air Base linked to component malfunction, fleet to resume flights: MINDEF
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Featured image adapted from The Republic of Singapore Air Force on Facebook.
