Huff, a Centerville resident, shared some of his experiences last week as a member of the Air Force's F-16 Mishap Investigation Board with the Bountiful Breakfast Exchange Club. He left the board in 1999.
Huff reviewed a couple of mishaps with club members, telling them stories mainly of pilot error. The plane also has a reputation for engine failure, prompting Huff to tell board members that the joke was "If you get rid of the pilots and airplanes, you'd have a pretty good airplane." The jet has used five different engines.
The board found the Belgian pilot made three major mistakes in the test run and had five chances to save the aircraft during the ill-fated flight.
The plane first flew in December 1976 and the first operational F-16A was delivered in January 1979 to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base.
Huff said one of the problems pilots encounter is blacking out due to high "G" force. To combat that, the back seat angle was expanded from the usual 13 degrees to 30 degrees, increasing gravity force tolerance and adding to pilot tolerance.
The fighter was the first built under a multi-national agreement with the United States and four NATO countries: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.
Huff also told the story of an Israeli Air Force lieutenant colonial who showed films of bird migration through the fertile crescent at a worldwide safety conference.
He said some 45,000 eagles migrate twice yearly over Israel on their way between Africa and Asia.
Pilots in Israel have to be very aware of the birds and the narrow path they follow.
mwilliams@davisclipper.com
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