An F-16 pilot died when his ejection seat failed. Was it counterfeit?

[rangerrebew]

An F-16 pilot died when his ejection seat failed. Was it counterfeit?
By Rachel S. Cohen
 Sep 13, 06:33 PM
 
An Air Force investigation of a fatal fighter jet crash in 2020 quietly discovered that key components of the pilot’s ejection seat may have been counterfeit, Air Force Times has learned.

First Lt. David Schmitz, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot at South Carolina’s Shaw Air Force Base, died June 30, 2020, when his ejection seat malfunctioned as he tried to escape from a failed nighttime landing. He was 32.

The Air Force’s official inquiry in the months following the accident found that electronics inside the seat were scratched, unevenly sanded and showed otherwise shoddy craftsmanship.
 
Read the complaint in Schmitz v. Lockheed Martin et al
That raised red flags at the Air Force Research Laboratory, which called for a closer look to confirm whether the pieces were fraudulent, according to previously unreported slides provided to Air Force Times. It’s unclear whether that question was ever answered.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2022/09/13/an-f-16-pilot-died-when-his-ejection-seat-failed-was-it-counterfeit/

[EdinVA]

So the buck stops at the grave.... 

The DOD ivory tower is so determined to protect itself that it is willing to sacrifice the troops, even officers, and deny the military family support due them.

[rangerrebew]

So the buck stops at the grave.... 

The DOD ivory tower is so determined to protect itself that it is willing to sacrifice the troops, even officers, and deny the military family support due them.

That makes me think of the USS Indianapolis fiasco.