A decade ago, the AV-8 Harrier was the most accident-prone plane in America's arsenal. Engine program manager Lt. Col. Robert Kuckuk of the Marines' Harrier program office helped redesign its engine and its maintenance program after a series of deadly accidents killed 45 of his fellow Marine pilots. That program now takes 25 man-hours per flight hour, but accident rates plunged. At the same time, the AV-8 has found its niche amidst the urban operations that have characterized Operation Iraqi Freedom. After the Harrier's most recent engine redesign overhaul, serious accidents dropped from 39 every 100,000 flight hours to 3.17 per 100,000 flight hours in 2001. In Iraq, Harriers have now flown nearly 11,000 hours without a mishap since May 2004.
One of the AV-8B Harrier's most valuable assets is a camera pod that was designed to guide bombs but can spot men and cars in almost any weather, at distances where subjects don't know they're being watched. The Harrier's outstanding slow flight and hovering performance makes it uniquely suited to employ its camera, then accurately deliver ordnance in minutes within 150 meters of friendly troops in cities like Fallujah. The Marines first bought the British-designed Harriers in 1971, replaced them with a newer model in 1985, upgraded them in 1993 and fixed them in 2000. |