F-22 Raptor Crashes Near Edwards AFB
Mar 25, 2009
Michael Bruno [email protected]
David A. Fulghum [email protected]
The U.S. Air Force has confirmed an F-22A Raptor crashed about 10 a.m. today around 35 miles northeast of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where it was based.
The condition of the pilot is unknown at this time, USAF says. A program source tells Aviation Week that the reason the pilot's fate is unknown is because the F-22 was separated from the chase plane at the time of the accident and the chase pilot did not see what happened.
The Raptor was on an unidentified test mission. So far it appears to have been a captive carry weapons test by the 412th Test Wing.
A USAF statement said a board of officers will investigate the accident. "As soon as additional details of the crash become available, they will be provided," the service said.
This is the third crash of an F-22, and the second of a production aircraft. A YF-22 crashed during testing in 1992--the pilot survived without ejecting--and in 2004 a pilot at Nellis AFB was forced to eject shortly after takeoff. The Nellis crash grounded the F-22 fleet for two weeks.
The Air Force currently has 134 F-22s in its inventory
victima un experimentado piloto de pruebas de Lockheed Martin
Pilot killed in F-22 crash in California desert
The Air Force's $140 million supersonic jet was on test mission
Pilot killed in F-22 crash in California desert
updated 9:38 p.m. ET March 25, 2009
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An F-22A Raptor, the Air Force's top-of-the line fighter jet, crashed Wednesday in a remote area of the Mojave Desert, killing a test pilot for prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.
The jet crashed at 10 a.m. about 35 miles northeast of Edwards, a vast unpopulated area of flat desert.
The pilot was David Cooley, 49, a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined Lockheed Martin in 2003, the company said in a statement. The company did not release any details of the accident or say whether or not Cooley attempted to eject.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29881713/
Mar 25, 2009
Michael Bruno [email protected]
David A. Fulghum [email protected]
The U.S. Air Force has confirmed an F-22A Raptor crashed about 10 a.m. today around 35 miles northeast of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where it was based.
The condition of the pilot is unknown at this time, USAF says. A program source tells Aviation Week that the reason the pilot's fate is unknown is because the F-22 was separated from the chase plane at the time of the accident and the chase pilot did not see what happened.
The Raptor was on an unidentified test mission. So far it appears to have been a captive carry weapons test by the 412th Test Wing.
A USAF statement said a board of officers will investigate the accident. "As soon as additional details of the crash become available, they will be provided," the service said.
This is the third crash of an F-22, and the second of a production aircraft. A YF-22 crashed during testing in 1992--the pilot survived without ejecting--and in 2004 a pilot at Nellis AFB was forced to eject shortly after takeoff. The Nellis crash grounded the F-22 fleet for two weeks.
The Air Force currently has 134 F-22s in its inventory
victima un experimentado piloto de pruebas de Lockheed Martin
Pilot killed in F-22 crash in California desert
The Air Force's $140 million supersonic jet was on test mission
Pilot killed in F-22 crash in California desert
updated 9:38 p.m. ET March 25, 2009
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An F-22A Raptor, the Air Force's top-of-the line fighter jet, crashed Wednesday in a remote area of the Mojave Desert, killing a test pilot for prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.
The jet crashed at 10 a.m. about 35 miles northeast of Edwards, a vast unpopulated area of flat desert.
The pilot was David Cooley, 49, a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined Lockheed Martin in 2003, the company said in a statement. The company did not release any details of the accident or say whether or not Cooley attempted to eject.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29881713/
