Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC), is a government contractor based in Newport News, Virginia, United States. It operates Dassault Mirage F1, Mk-58 Hawker Hunter, Israeli F-21 Kfir, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, and Aero L-39 Albatros military aircraft in tactical flight training roles for the United States Navy, United States Air Force, and Air National Guard.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Newport News, Virginia, USA |
Area served | United States |
| Services | contracted air services and adversary air combat training |
| Website | ATAC.com |
Its main air operations base is at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California.[1] It sends aircraft as far away as Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan.[2][3]
ATAC was acquired by Textron in 2016 and continues to operate as a subsidiary.[4]
Fleet
editThe ATAC air fleet includes the following aircraft[5]
Accidents and incidents
edit
- 8 July 2010: Douglas A-4 Skyhawk N132AT lost power during takeoff and crashed in a field near Naval Air Station Fallon. The pilot ejected safely. Investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were completed.[7]
- 6 March 2012:IAI Kfir N404AX crashed into a building near at Naval Air Station Fallon in inclement weather, killing the pilot. Investigations by the FAA and NTSB were completed.[8]
- 18 May 2012: Hawker Hunter N329AX crashed in a field on final approach to Naval Air Station Point Mugu, killing the pilot. Investigations by the FAA and NTSB have been completed.[9][10]
- 29 October 2014: Hawker Hunter N332AX crashed in a field near Naval Air Station Point Mugu, killing the pilot. Investigations by the FAA and NTSB have been completed.[11][12][13]
- 22 August 2017 : Hawker Hunter crashed about 100 miles off the coast of San Diego, California. The pilot was able to eject and was recovered by a U.S. Navy helicopter from aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.[14]
- 25 February 2021: Mirage F1B slid off the end of the runway at Tyndall Air Force Base. Both pilots were transported to the local hospital.[15]
- 14 April 2021: Hawker Hunter N331AX suffered a runway excursion incident at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.[16]
- 6 June 2022: Hawker Hunter N337AX crashed approximately 41 nautical miles off the coast of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. The pilot was able to eject, suffering a spinal injury upon ejection. Investigations by the FAA and NTSB are in work.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Airborne Tactical Advantage Company Wins Up to $47,080,902 Contract". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ ATAC Hawker Hunter F Mk.58 N322AX @ NAF Atsugi Retrieved 18 February 2017
- ^ "Naval Air Facility (NAF) / Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMDSF) Atsugi". Airshow Action. 27 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ a b Giangreco, Leigh (19 September 2017). "Textron unit acquires 63 Mirage F1s". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ Federal Aviation Administration. "US Civil Aircraft Registry, Query="ATAC"". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ Arnaud (18 July 2017). "L'enterprise américaine ATAC racchète 63 Mirage F1 Français !". Avions Legendaires (in French). Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ "WPR10LA339". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "DCA12PA049". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "DCA12PA076". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Jet crashes in Southern California, killing pilot". CBS News. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ^ "WPR15GA030". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ "'Top Gun' style military jet crashes outside Navy base in California, killing pilot". NYDailyNews. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "PILOT DIES IN MILITARY PLANE CRASH IN PORT HUENEME". ABC News. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "ATAC HAWKER HUNTER CRASHES OFF THE COAST OF SAN DIEGO". The Aviation Geek Club. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ "Contract pilots in F1B Mirage suffer non-life-threatening injuries in Tyndall AFB crash". NavyTimes. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ "Runway excursion Incident Hawker Hunter Mk 58 N331AX, 14 Apr 2021<".
- ^ "ERA22LA277". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 8 August 2022.