A relative of a crew member who survived a B-1B Lancer crash in South Dakota earlier this year said the official accident investigation report into the accident wrongly criticized the pilot’s weight and wrongly placed blame on Ellsworth Air Force Base personnel.
Joni Smith, the flight instructor’s mother-in-law, told Military.com she sent letters with her concerns about the incident to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and members of the state’s delegation in Washington, D.C. One criticism was that Smith said the report incorrectly reported the pilot’s alleged weight as “nearly 260” pounds, when the report said it was over the maximum weight of 245 pounds. The investigator said this “underscores the deterioration of the unit’s culture and discipline.”
Smith detailed in her letter and in an interview with Military.com that her son-in-law never officially weighed more than 245 pounds, was never barred from flying and passed his last fitness test just six weeks before the crash. She said his alleged weight mentioned in the report was measured in a hospital bed, which she called an inaccurate and unfair method of collecting data, especially since he was bandaged and swollen from the crash.
Read more: Marine Corps Cammie items back in stock after shortages due to pandemic-related supply disruptions
“A Monument Health medical professional explained that hospital bed weights are not accurate body measurements,” Smith wrote. “Weight was measured after the accident with a neck brace, boot brace, lap belt, leg belt, blanket, multiple layers of bedding and padding, remote control for pain medication, multiple IVs, multiple tubes and wires, dressings on three wounds, hospital gown, and blood pressure monitor.”
Although her son-in-law is still recovering from severe back injuries sustained during an ejection from the B-1B Lancer, Smith said it is possible he could face disciplinary action due to his alleged weight.
The crash, which injured Smith’s son-in-law, occurred on Jan. 4 at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. The $450 million B-1B Lancer was on a training exercise with four crew members on board. The bomber crashed about 100 feet short of the runway, skidded more than 5,000 feet down the runway and then caught fire.
All four crew members were able to escape safely from the aircraft; Smith’s son-in-law suffered several broken bones and a serious injury to his spine.
Lt. Col. Erick Lord, president of the accident investigation agency, issued a scathing report released late last month. The report cited “a failure to adhere to standard crew resource management,” adverse weather conditions, inadequate oversight of flight operations, lack of awareness and “an unhealthy corporate culture that allowed for deterioration in flight skills” as contributing factors to the crash, Military.com first reported.
Lord also highlighted the flight instructor’s weight, saying, “Review of post-accident medical records revealed evidence that the (flight instructor’s) weight exceeded the maximum weight limit of the ACES II ejection seat (211 pounds) and the maximum weight limit established by the Air Force (245 pounds) for safe and effective use.”
The report claims that the flight instructor was just under the 245-pound weight limit before the accident, and states that the nearly 260-pound weight found after the accident “likely contributed to the severity of the injuries observed in the accident.”
The Air Force’s Global Strike Command did not address many of the allegations contained in Smith’s letter and detailed on Military.com, but said the organization was taking action based on the report’s findings.
“The AIB report describes the cause of the accident, the crew landing short of the runway and other factors that contributed to the accident,” Lt. Col. John Severns, spokesman for Air Force Global Strike Command, told Military.com. “The 28th Bomb Wing has worked to consider these factors and take appropriate administrative actions. The Air Force does not discuss the results of these types of actions as they are protected by privacy law.”
About a week after the findings were made public, the commander of the 28th Operations Group was relieved of his post “due to a loss of confidence in his leadership abilities,” Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement, based on the findings of an accident investigation agency report on the Jan. 4 crash of a B-1B bomber in Ellsworth.
Lord’s report targeted the 28th Operational Support Squadron and the 34th Bomb Squadron, both of which report to the 28th Operations Group commander, saying that “the lack of effective oversight of air operations” and “the lack of communication about airfield and weather capabilities and conditions all point to culture and leadership problems.”
The incident was the first crash of a B-1B Lancer in over a decade. The previous crash occurred in August 2013, when a bomber flying from Ellsworth crashed near Broadus, Montana, causing fire damage to private property and destroying the aircraft.
Smith explained that the recent crash had already been a great strain on the crew, but Lord’s subsequent report had caused even more stress and worry for the pilots and others at the base.
The crew member’s mother-in-law also took aim at other details in the report, claiming that icing and wind shear played a larger role in the crash than the findings indicated. She also said Lord’s “comments simmer with hatred and disrespect for the outstanding pilots of the 34th Bomber Wing.”
Pilots and crew members who served at Ellsworth and spoke to Military.com on condition of anonymity about the culture at the base said the report damaged morale and made them feel like they weren’t committed to their jobs. That’s especially true since members of the B-1B Lancer community said they already do more with fewer people, aircraft and resources compared to other aircraft.
“Every time a blow like that happens, it’s bad for morale,” said one former pilot. “It really gave the impression that you’re left out in the cold after making a mistake. And the real cause of that mistake wasn’t a culture of willful disregard for rules, it was incredibly inexperienced people who were put under too much pressure too quickly.”
Another former Ellsworth crew member told Military.com that the pilot whose weight was criticized in the report was physically fit and regularly lifted weights. The pilot said criticisms like those in Lord’s report hurt members of the B-1B community not only in South Dakota but also at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, where the bomber is also flown.
“I think that’s unfair,” the former crew member said. “I don’t think they ever got to the root cause of the problem. … We no longer have enough personnel to staff the squadrons at the current maximum staffing rate.”
Just months before the crash, in November, the 28th Bomb Wing in Ellsworth was awarded the Fairchild Trophy for winning the Global Strike Challenge, a competition that tested the squadron’s maintenance and operational capabilities.
Lord’s criticism of the B-1B Lancer unit at Ellsworth comes at a time when the Air Force plans to replace the aging bomber, introduced in the 1980s, with the new B-21 Raider.
The Defense Department has announced it plans to purchase about 100 B-21 bombers, more than the Air Force’s current fleet of B-2s and B-1B Lancers combined. Each new bomber is estimated to cost $700 million, according to a service fact sheet.
The Air Force’s Global Strike Command said in a statement to Military.com that there is a proposal to temporarily move 17 B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth to Grand Forks Air Force Base in nearby North Dakota between February and November 2025, or for about 10 months, to conduct runway repairs and prepare for the future arrival of the B-21.
In addition, approximately 800 employees from Ellsworth would be relocated to Grand Forks to support B-1B operations.
Related: Ellsworth Air Force Base Commander Fired After Damning Accident Report on B-1B Lancer Crash
The story continues
