Defective Fuel Readings Led Pilot To Ditch Fighter Jet - Rafale
PARIS - The Rafale F3 strike fighter that was ditched into the sea Nov. 28 off the Pakistan coast suffered from defective fuel information, the spokesman for the French Ministry of Defense said Dec. 2.
An initial debriefing of the pilot who ejected from the Rafale established that the defect created inaccurate fuel-level readings, spokesman Laurent Teisseire told journalists. A team from the accident inquiry board is on its way to the Charles de Gaulle carrier, from which the Navy Fleet Air Arm Rafale was operating.
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"An inquiry is underway," Teisseire said, adding that it is too early to say what were the technical causes behind the incident.
The Rafale was armed for a close air support mission and headed for the Afghan theater in a patrol with Super Etendard Moderrnisé aircraft.
The Rafale pilot was returning to the carrier to change aircraft when he was forced to eject and ditch the aircraft at 8 a.m. Paris time on Nov. 28. A helicopter picked up the pilot within 10 minutes of hitting the water. The pilot was unharmed.
The Dassault Rafale is up against the Boeing F/A-18, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen, Lockheed Martin F-16 and RAC MiG-35.