Brown crash prompts drive
for safer military jets

April 16, 1996
Web posted at: 11 p.m. EDT

From Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary William Perry has ordered the U.S. military to install Global Positioning Satellite navigation systems, as well as cockpit voice and data recorders, on all of its passenger planes. The order, released by the Pentagon Tuesday, is part of a movement to upgrade military passenger planes that are woefully behind in safety equipment.

Air Force One, the plane that carries the president of the United States, is one plane that you'd think had every safety device available. CNN has learned that even the president's plane lacks a $1.5 million wind shear detection system found on some civilian airliners.

Still, it at least meets basic safety standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration. The military jet that crashed in Croatia, killing Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and his delegation, did not.

Brown's military jet is the rule, not the exception, in the Air Force passenger fleet. Like virtually all of the Air Force's passenger aircraft, that military version of the Boeing 737 did not have the safety equipment the FAA requires on every commercial airliner, including mid-air crash avoidance systems.

The reason? Money.

"Because of fiscal constraints, because of budgetary constraints, we have to wisely spend our dollars," said Brig. Gen. Orin Godsey, the Air Force safety chief.

The Air Force says it would cost $8.5 million to add collision avoidance systems to its fleet of 20 VIP jets, and another $6.5 million to add wind shear detection systems. The Air Force is putting off spending on those items to help ease money worries for new weapons systems and next-generation planes.

Besides, the Air Force argues, its safety record is enviable. It has fewer than one accident for every 100,000 hours of flying.

"I think if you compare the accident rates of our operational support aircraft -- our aircraft that carry a larger number of passengers -- it compares very favorable with what you see on the outside," said Lt. Gen. Ralph Eberhart, Air Force deputy operations chief.

Even if all the planes were upgraded, the Air Force would not be flying in the clear. In order for the sophisticated air safety systems to work, ground equipment must be in place. Some in the Air Force are still fuming that the pilots of Ron Brown's plane had to rely on World War II vintage landing beacons to find their way into Dubrovnik, instead of high-tech mobile landing aids that are gathering dust in an Air Force warehouse.

The high-profile crash may change that.

The Navy also balked at spending $80 million for improved flight controls for its aging F-14s until a series of crashes provided a wake-up call. Adm. Mike Boorda, chief of Naval Operations, says that the accidents caused the Navy to change its view. "I think that's a good decision," he said.

The Air Force insists that what it lacks in equipment, it makes up in more conservative flight rules. And, it maintains, the Air Force does not fly planes that are not safe for their mission. "We don't have to fly passengers to make money," Godsey said.

Related stories

• Air Force: lack of black box won't hurt - April 10, 1996
• Could deadly crash in Croatia have been avoided? - April 6, 1996
• Two U.S. officials in Balkan plane crash - April 3, 1996

Related sites

• Federal Aviation Administration
• U.S. Air Force
• 86th Airlift Wing (the unit whose plane crashed near Dubrovnik)

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