Driver rolls Minuteman ICBM Transporter doing 50-mph on a curve - was Mishaps and electronica

Driver rolls loaded Minuteman ICBM Transporter-Erector doing 50-mph on
a curve
at Vandenburg AFB.

Here is a story about a mishap- electronics were not involved.

A Minuteman Transporter-Erector is a large semi-truck like vehicle
that transports 80,000-lb Minuteman ICBM's to and from silos.

Once at the silo, it elevates the trailer to a vertical position over
the missile silo opening and lowers the fully fueled Minuteman ICBM
into the silo.

Here are some pictues of a Transporter-Erector at work:


http://www.tabloid.net/1998/09/21/transporter.jpg

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/Image026.jpg

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/Image017.jpg

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/Image084.jpg


A driver rolled Minuteman Transporter-Erector loaded with a training
ICBM doing 50-mph on a curve at Vandenberg AFB in June 2001.

Here is the accident report:


http://usaf.aib.law.af.mil/indexFY01.html

http://usaf.aib.law.af.mil/Minuteman...r_29June01.pdf

================================================== ========================
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
MINUTEMAN MISSILE TRANSPORTER-ERECTOR ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

TRANSPORTER-ERECTOR (TE) NSN 1450-01-261-2835AH Rig # 90W00014
CONTAINER NSN 1450-01-261-0306AH Rig # 90W00036
GROUND TEST MISSILE (GTM) # 078 SERIAL # 0000060

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA

29 JUNE 2001

On 29 June 2001, at 1010 PDT, 1710 Zulu, a Minuteman ICBM TE carrying
a Minuteman III GTM overturned on to its top on Vandenberg AFB, CA
while negotiating an ascending left curve. The TE, assigned to the
576 Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), VAFB, CA, was involved in a four-day
training mission as a Launch Facility in preparation for a Minuteman
III ICBM Force Development Evaluation launch from the Western Range.
The mishap operator _______________, assigned to the 576 FLTS,
suffered minor injuries that were immediately treated and he was
released and declared fit for duty. The passenger, _______________,
also assigned to the 576 FLTS, suffered a major injury to his right
shoulder that was not life threatening.
Damage to the Minuteman ICBM TE and the GTM is extensive. The TE
tractor is repairable and the TE container bogie is salvageable. The
TE container and the GTM are not repairable. Total damage was
$2,253,230.71. The fully operational TE departed Launch Facility 26
at approximately 1000 hours local having been properly configured for
transport. It transited the approximate five miles to the mishap site
without incident. The mishap operator approached the first in the
series of "S" curves at approximately 50 miles per hour. He
successfully negotiated the first curve having a broad right-hand
turn and a downhill grade. The next 200 feet of roadway is gradually
inclined and is in transition from a right-hand to a left-hand curve
having a tighter turn radius and an uphill grade. The mishap operator
entered the mishap curve at speeds ranging from 49 to 53 mph. As the
mishap operator proceeded through the turn, the loaded container's
path of momentum and travel resisted the turn, and pursued a straight
path. This caused the front of the container to apply a strong
downward pressure on the rear portion of the TE tractor lifting and
rotating the tractor in the direction of the turn. It also caused the
TE container to tip precipitously. The TE container's landing gear
footpad contacted the pavement and acted as a pivot point causing the
right side of the TE to impact the pavement and slide. In the final
mishap sequence the TE departed the roadway and rolled over on to its
top and came to its final resting position, partially off the road,
and inclined radically down a counter inclined embankment. The mishap
operator extracted himself from the TE but the mishap passenger
required emergency assistance to be extracted.
By clear and convincing evidence, excessive speed for the roadway
conditions presented is the cause of this mishap. Substantial
evidence shows that the lack of sufficient experience and inadequate
training of the mishap driver are significant contributing factors.
The mishap operator was operating the TE within TE operating
parameters and within the 50 mile per hour speed limit. Given the
calculation that a loaded TE cannot, under any circumstances,
successfully negotiate the mishap curve at 56 miles per hour, the
speed limit of 50 miles per hour is imprudent for this vehicle. The
mishap operator failed to exercise sufficient judgment and adjust his
speed to the configuration of the roadway. The mishap operator had,
at most, driven a similarly configured TE under near-similar
conditions only once before. While the TE operator's training
includes a TE-specific orientation, it is conspicuously deficient of
multi-axle, articulated vehicle fundamentals. This deficiency makes
the mishap operator a minority among the current population of
certified, licensed TE drivers in the unit. No member of the unit has
attended this training since May 1999, apparently resulting from a
unit-level decision to no longer avail itself of fundamentals drivers
training courses such as those offered at the operational missile
wings and at Vandenberg AFB CA. Furthermore, the unit's failure to
require this training of its prospective TE drivers renders the unit
in non-compliance with a governing Air Force Space Command
Instruction. This Accident Investigation Board President finds this
to be significant.
Under 10 U.S.C. 2254*(d), any opinion of the accident investigators
as to the cause of, or the factors contributing to, the accident set
forth in the accident investigation report may not be considered as
evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding arising from an
accident, nor may such information be considered an admission of
liability by the United States or by any person referred to in those
conclusions or statements.
================================================== ======================


-Rusty Barton - Antelope, California
--
Visit my Minuteman ICBM History Website at
http://www.geocities.com/minuteman_missile/index.html