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Crash prompts F-15, F-15E groundings

In the wake of the crash of an F-15C Eagle on Friday in Missouri, the Air Force has grounded most of its F-15 Eagles and F-15E Strike Eagles.

“The cause of that accident is still under investigation, however, preliminary findings indicate that a possible structural failure of the aircraft may have occurred,” the Air Force said in statement issued Saturday.

As a precautionary measure, the Air Force suspended routine F-15 missions, the statement continued.

The suspension does not affect F-15Es deployed for missions over Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Central Air Forces.

The unidentified pilot involved in Friday’s crash safely ejected. According to an Associated Press report, he sustained a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and minor cuts and bruises. He was released from the hospital Saturday, according to the report.

The jet was involved in a mock dog fight with another F-15 where speeds of 400 to 450 mph are typical, Col. Robert Leeker, commander of the 131st Fighter Wing in St. Louis, told reporters.

Leeker declined to speculate on what caused the accident. The two dog fighting jets did not touch, he added.

The grounding announcement comes at the same time Air Force leaders continue to press Congress for more F-22A Raptors, the stealth jet replacing the F-15 Eagle at many bases, and permission to retire a host of older bombers, tankers and transports.

The Air Force’s F-15 fleet includes 522 F-15 Eagles and 217 F-15E Strike Eagles, according to the service. F-15 Eagles began operations in 1975 while F-15Es, the two-seat bomber version of the jet, joined the fleet in 1988.

The Missouri Air National Guard F-15 that crashed Friday was built in 1980.

While the F-15 is the service’s oldest fighter, crashes of the jet have rarely been blamed on structural problems.

In 2002, an F-15 flying a test mission over the Gulf of Mexico became uncontrollable and crashed into the water. An Air Force investigation found that the jet’s left rear vertical tail fin broke apart while the jet was flying at more than twice the speed of sound.

As a result, the Air Force has been replacing portions of the tail fins and restricted F-15s not yet to repaired from flying some stressful maneuvers during training and test flights. The restrictions do not apply to combat missions.

More recently, another Missouri Air National Guard fighter crashed in May. That fighter, an F-15D, had been on a training flight about eight miles south of Vincennes, Ind., when a jammed control cable made it impossible for the pilot to control the jet, according to an Air Force report released last week.

The report said the crossover cable was properly installed, inspected and maintained, leaving it unclear why it malfunctioned.

The pilot ejected and had only minor injuries. No one on the ground was hurt.

Related reading:

F-15 pilot in crash released from hospital

Japan grounds F-15s