Technical Services - Summer 2008 - (Page 6)

lcoe Life CyCLe OptimizatiOn and engineering TS Engineers Recognized for Support of B-2 Crash Investigation Base, Mo., were recently acknowledged for their contributions to the investigation of a B-2 bomber crash that occurred Feb. 23. T wo Technical Services field support engineers working with the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Faulhaber, who was on Guam supporting the B-2 deployment when the accident occurred, provided hands-on system expertise to the safety investigation board. He also served as a conduit for additional support from Northrop Grumman’s B-2 program office in Palmdale, Calif. After all of the evidence was collected and analyzed at the crash site, the investigation board members traveled to the Weapons System Support Center (WSSC) at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., to recover data from components salvaged from the aircraft and to test their theories in the B-2 weapons system simulator. Stephanie Ellis and Marty Faulhaber display their recognition plaques. The B-2 crashed shortly after takeoff at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The wing had deployed four B-2s to provide a bomber forward presence in that region. The two pilots ejected successfully, but the aircraft, named the “Spirit of Kansas,” was destroyed at a loss of more than $1.4 billion, the U.S. Air Force reported. Marty Faulhaber and Stephanie Ellis assisted in the comprehensive Air Force investigations that immediately followed. At a Northrop Grumman all-hands meeting June 12, Brig. Gen. Garret Harencak, 509th Bomb Wing commander, expressed his appreciation to the entire Northrop Grumman team and then personally recognized the two TS engineers for their roles in the accident investigation. He then presented letters of appreciation mounted in Spirit of Kansas frames to Faulhaber and Ellis from the incident’s safety investigation board president, Brig. Gen. Joseph F. Mudd, and the incident’s accident investigation board president, Maj. Gen. Floyd L. Carpenter, respectively. Currently, 19 B-2s are based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., home of the 509th Bomb Wing, while one aircraft is assigned to flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to validate software and weapon systems upgrades. Ellis supported the subsequent accident investigation board both at Whiteman Air Force Base and the WSSC Laboratory at Tinker Air Force Base. Her expertise in reading and interpreting the B-2’s recorded data and providing daily support to pilots and maintainers since the B-2’s 1993 arrival at Whiteman made her an excellent choice in assisting in the investigation. TS supports Whiteman Air Force Base with sustaining and low-observable engineering, depot-level maintenance assistance, contractor inventory control point and B-2 aircrew training. TS Top: The B-2 is the only U.S. aircraft that combines long range, large payload and stealth in a single platform, giving it the ability to project air power anywhere in the world. It can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling. 6 Technical Services Magazine • Summer 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technical Services - Summer 2008

Technical Services - Summer 2008 Contents President’s Column Second Quarter Results TS Wins Key ID/IQ Contracts Seamless Partnering and Exceptional Performance: Two Defining Traits of the U.K. AWACS Program TS Engineers Investigate B-2 Crash Missile Logistics Support Operation Up and Running Lake Charles Expands Product Support Global Hawk Assists Firefighting Efforts TS Delivers Technology for Moon Mission Joint Venture Teammates Recognized for Service Milestones TS Trains Peacekeepers in Seven African Nations TS Trainers Provide Mission Support; TS Awarded Digital Leader Contract TS Offers Valuable Training Services to Soldiers Live-Fire Training at Fort Hood Naval and Marine Aviators Hone Their Skills GEODSS Celebrates 30 Years; Wallops Island Shoulder to Shoulder – Wounded Warriors I’m In! TS Transitions to One Source; Scholarship Winners Announced TS in Colorado Springs; Ethics Awareness Week

Technical Services - Summer 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.