Recently in Prangs Category

The recent crash of US Navy F/A-18D Hornet from VFA-106 into an apartment building in Virginia Beach raises the question: Is there already too much encroachment around Naval Air Station Oceana?

Read our coverage here and here

It's never a smart idea to build residential buildings near a busy airport or a busy military airfield, but this issue has come up before for Oceana. And it will continue to pop-up around the country. MCAS Miramar near San Diego immediately comes to mind as a prime example.

 Take a look at this timeline laid out by YesOceana.com. It's possible there is already too much encroachment.

 July 19, 2005  

 The BRAC commission votes to add NAS Oceana to the list of base closures.

 August 4, 2005           

 Federal, State, and City of Virginia Beach leaders appear before the BRAC commission to defend NAS Oceana.

 August 24, 2005         

 The BRAC commission votes to maintain NAS Oceana if Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and the Commonwealth of Virginia commit to appropriate money to stop encroachment within APZ-1 by March 2006.

 December 20, 2005    

 Virginia Beach City Council adopts plan for compliance with BRAC Commission decision and begins meeting the terms of the BRAC order.

 February 14, 2006     

 Virginia Beach City Council adopted a zoning ordinance amendment to include clear zones as part of the APZ-1 Use and Acquisition Plan.

 March 28, 2006          

 Virginia Beach adopts ordinances to:

        * Allow certain uses as principle uses in APZ-1

        * Amend the Airport Noise Attenuation and Safety Ordinance regarding avigation easements on property within Air Installment Compatible Use Zones (AICUZ)

        * Establish the APZ-1 Property Exemption District

        * Establish the APZ-1 Technology/Business Opportunity Zone

        * Amend plan to include principles guiding the voluntary conversion of nonconforming      uses to conforming uses in APZ-1

 March 31, 2006          

 The City of Virginia Beach presents the plan to the BRAC Commission to stop and roll back development around NAS Oceana. A plan that meets and exceeds the BRAC intent quicker, more effectively and at a lower cost.

 One would hope that whatever the city managed to roll-back, that it is sufficient.

More bad news for the F-15 fighter community, but I'm glad at least the pilot is okay. Cirumstances surrounding the accident remain unclear, but there's no indication from news reports so far that the aircraft broke up before the pilot ejected. Cheers to Eric Palmer for the head's up.

Click here for background on the F-15 crash on 2 November that prompted the US Air Force to ground its fleet.

According to reports (here and here), the passengers of the doomed aircraft included senior Polish Air Force commanders. The senior delegation was returning to Poland after attending a conference on aviation safety.

Iranian Fighter Jet Crashes, 2 Killed

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian air force F-4 Phantom jet crashed into the Oman Sea on Monday off the southeastern coast of Iran, killing both pilots, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The jet, belonging to the army air force, crashed into the sea near the port of Konarak during a training flight, and "both pilots ... were martyred," IRNA said.

From the daily wires:

A test flight of a GR.4 Tornado went tragically awry yesterday when the back-seat navigator was somehow dislodged from his seat and fell through the canopy with the aircraft in an inverted roll. Read the full bizarre story here.

Meanwhile, I have received a report from Flight International's internal data team that an Azerbaijani-owned Ilyushin Il-76 was fired on while landing yesterday at the Mogadishu airport. I am still hunting for a news report of this inident. If confirmed, this incident follows two previous attacks in March on Il-76 transports arriving in Mogadishu.