F-16 Surgery – Pulling Out The Powerhouse Engine

Inside Job.

Fighters are the backbone of the US Air Force and needless to say, they take on many miles during missions. These jets do not come cheap and the United States Military wants to get a lot of use of them. Some fighters see over 40 years of service but to ensure a lengthy lifetime proper maintenance is necessary. Reliable repair crews service jets to maintain safety and proper functions to avoid situations which could endanger a pilot. At Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, a maintenance crew assumes repair duties on an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

“Basically what happened was the engine shop found a bad hydraulic line. They weren’t able to repair the hydraulic line with the motor installed in the aircraft. So we had to pull the motor out so they could get access to the hydraulic line and replace it.”

– Senior Airman Anthony Hetlage (455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron)

The process of repairing the jet’s interior has many fascinating steps take you inside the powerful fighter jet. These crews show everything from engines to disarming bombs to keep these planes flying, go take a look.