Friday, December 17, 2004

F-16 Accidental School Shooting Blamed on Pilot Error

It turns out that the accidental straffing of a New Jersey elementary school by an Air National Guard F-16 we wrote about in early November was the result of pilot error. Major Roberto Balzano, was attempting to use the onboard laser targeting pod on a ground target at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, but when he pressed the trigger, he forgot he'd left the air-to-ground machine gun mode turned on. Let's try to be a little more careful about selected modes next time, Major.

See: Pilot Error Blamed in N.J. School Shooting