Fighter Jet Crash 5th Anniversary Stirs Memory Of Massive Response

MORENO VALLEY, CA — Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of an Air National Guard F-16, fully loaded with ordinance, that fell from the sky through a warehouse roof on an ill-fated return to March Air Reserve Base.

The pilot escaped, parachuting onto the end of Runway 32, and three others were hurt as a result of the crash, all treated for minor injuries. Findings published by the U.S. Air Force investigative panel said the $25 million jet suffered a hydraulic failure that rendered it uncontrollable, forcing the pilot to eject a mere 250 feet off the ground, leaving the F-16 to glide, unmanned, into the warehouse structure.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Robert Epps, supervisor of the Hazardous Material Team, Bomb Squad, recalled the events one year later.

"I heard the whole thing go down on the (public safety communication) system, and I made some announcements to our guys to be aware of hazards when we go there," Epps said. At first, there was "a little chaos," he said. "But that's how these things start. Then it went pretty smooth."

The event triggered a massive public safety response from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, and the air reserve base. The crash and hazardous materials fears led to a full closure of the 215 freeway and an extensive operation to recover the jet's missiles—all because a faulty valve allowed hydraulics to leak out of the Fighting Falcon.

The chain of events leading to the May 16, 2019, crash began when two F-16s from the 175th Fighter Squadron, based at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but temporarily assigned to March Air Reserve Base, departed the Riverside military installation shortly after 2 p.m. on a simulated scramble alert issued by the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

The fighters traveled to a military operations area 120 miles east and performed maneuvers before heading back toward March. The wingman to the principal pilot flying the sortie began receiving warning bells in the cockpit as he crossed the Coachella Valley, but the two-flight formation continued, according to a report issued a year later by the U.S. Air Force Aircraft Accident Investigations Board.

"The pilot checked the hydraulic pressure gauges and noted low pressure in (one) system," the report stated. He made the return toward the airbase, and upon final approach to March, the jet's second hydraulic system went "on the blink." The airman declared an emergency but set up for a landing on one runway, while the lead pilot in the formation broke away and landed uneventfully on a separate runway, according to the report.

The ensuing dual hydraulic system failure caused the second Falcon to start rolling to the left, and when the pilot tried to counter the roll, "the aircraft responded by rolling hard to the right," according to the AAIB.

The failing F-16 became uncontrollable, and the pilot ejected, parachuting unhurt onto a runway.

The out-of-control, unmanned fighter flew another two seconds, crossing over I-215 and crashing wheels first through the See Water Inc. warehouse at 22220 Opportunity Way. It tore a wide gash in the roof, smashing water pipes and destroying aisles full of electronics accessories, aluminum awnings, and other products.

Everyone in the warehouse escaped injury and safely evacuated, about five to ten people were treated for superficial injuries at the scene, according to Cal Fire at the time.

March Air Reserve Base Fire Brigade and Riverside County Fire Department personnel quickly knocked down a small, resulting fire at the warehouse.

Over 100 firefighters from multiple agencies converged on the area, followed by the sheriff's bomb squad, whose then-commander, Robert Epps, told later City News Service that he had been monitoring public safety radio traffic when the accident happened, and his team immediately assembled and went to the scene.

While a hazardous material unit began working to mitigate the fuel and hydrazine spills from the jet, the bomb squad and Air Force technicians initiated a search to secure the F-16's four missiles and nose-mounted 20mm Vulcan cannon. One missile was found broken in two on the roof of the See Water Inc. warehouse, while the others were found inside, near the jet, Epps said.

According to authorities, they had not fired or detonated because the jet's armament panel had not been switched on, and the fire in the warehouse lacked the intensity to cause them to explode.

The March Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team disarmed and transported the cannon back to the base.

Epps said that he and his crew, along with U.S. Marine explosives experts from Camp Pendleton, spent hours locating and securing the missiles.

The California Highway Patrol shut down a 4-mile stretch of I-215 in both directions for 24 hours after the crash as a safety precaution. Businesses near the warehouse were evacuated, and residents in nearby homes were asked to shelter in place.

The missiles were removed from the warehouse and taken to the nearby Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, where Epps, March ARB command staff, and others coordinated the disposal of the weaponry.

"We buried them in the ground in holes ... 4 feet wide, 12 feet deep, and 10 feet long," the sergeant said. "We used all the dirt from the holes to mitigate the noise and fragmentation, then planted blocks of C4 down the lengths of the holes."

The C4 was detonated early on the afternoon of May 17, 2019, destroying the missiles.

"That was pretty much it for our part," Epps said. "It was all pretty interesting."

In the investigation conducted by the AAIB, a panel discovered that an integrated servo actuator, or ISA, that had been overhauled by Air Force techs at Hill Air Force Base in Utah was not put back together correctly.

ISAs are critical because they govern the flow of hydraulics that control an F-16's flight devices — ailerons, elevators — to enable the nimble fighters to turn, climb, roll, and everything else. The investigators found that a check valve screw cap on the ISA had not been properly refitted, allowing hydraulics to leak out.

Further inquiry uncovered evidence of poor inventory control that caused the wrong parts to go into the overhaul.

According to the report, the deficient device was placed in the ill-fated F-16, which managed to fly for 16 hours before the complete hydraulic failure occurred.

The cost of repairing the warehouse and cleanup operations totaled just under $4 million.

—City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.

Related:

Jet Traffic Increases Over Riverside County

1 Year Later, Report, Witnesses Shed Light On March ARB Jet Crash

Fighter Jet Crashes After Takeoff From March Air Reserve Base

I-215 Now Open Following Jet Crash, Armaments Disposed | Murrieta, CA Patch