September 26, 2011 | Mark Paradies

Monday Accident & Lessons Learned: What Do You Do When You Can't Find a Root Cause?

Here’s a link to a story in Wired about an Air Force investigation into the cause of an F-22 crash:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/09/grounded-stealth-fighters-back/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

The article says:

The brass still doesn’t know why a dozen Raptor pilots blacked out and one fatally crashed, prompting the May 3 no-fly order. Officials suspected the oxygen system aboard the $300-million, radar-evading superfighter. Ground crews starting up the jets in sealed, garage-like hangars might also have been a factor. After months of study, the Air Force still can’t say for sure.”

The Air Force has decided that they know enough about the failures to resume flight. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz ” … ordered careful monitoring of the jets and their pilots as the F-22 training system slowly cranks back into gear over a period of months.

Have you ever had this happen? An accident investigation where you could not find root causes?

What kind of advice would you give the Air Force (or anyone else) who had trouble finding the root causes of a serious problem that could cause additional fatalities and the loss of high dollar assets?

Please leave your comments here…

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Root Cause Analysis
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