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F-15 Eagles grounded for third time
Caitlin Harrington JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC
Additional reporting by
Gareth Jennings Jane's Aviation Reporter
London
US Air Force officials have issued an order to end a gradual return to service of A through to D models of the F-15 Eagle, grounding the aircraft for the third time in recent weeks due to ongoing flight-safety concerns.
General John Corley, the head of Air Combat Command (ACC), ordered the stand-down on 3 December "until further notice", ending a process that began on 27 November and had seen the aircraft individually inspected and returned to service.
He also recommended the grounding of all other A-D model F-15s, including those under operational control of combatant commanders.
Gen Corley said the decision to stop flying the fighters for a third time in about a month is a reaction to the troubling findings of a USAF investigation of a 2 November F-15C crash in Missouri.
A key factor in the crash was cracking in the upper sections of the F-15C's longerons: major structural components that run along the side of the aircraft.
The USAF investigation findings issued on 3 December by a USAF accident investigation board, indicate that longeron cracking could be a fleet-wide problem.
"[3 December's] findings from the accident investigation board indicate that a recently discovered defect may be more extensive and found in more aircraft than previously thought," ACC officials stated in a 5 December release. "Additional cracks have been discovered in these longerons."
So far, the USAF has found cracks in the longerons of four additional aircraft.
The A-D models will undergo an inspection focusing on the longerons. However, none of the fighters will return to flight status following inspections because the stakes are simply too high.
"Computer simulations have indicated a catastrophic structural failure could result from cracks in the longerons," according to the ACC.
Examined aircraft will stay on the ground until the ACC completes inspections, analyses all the data gained from computer modelling and takes the necessary repair or mitigation actions to reduce the likelihood of cracking.
Only the two-seat multirole F-15E Strike Eagle, the newest in the fleet, will continue to fly.
The entire F-15 fleet was first grounded on 3 November following the F-15C crash.
F-15Es returned to service on 15 November, while the A-D models were gradually returning to service after inspections.
However, the A-D models were ordered to stop flying again on 28 November after the initial metallurgical tests from the F-15C crash revealed that longeron cracking contributed to the crash and individual inspections resumed.
The USAF was in the middle of returning the A-D models to flight status when the decision was made on 3 December to stand then down once again.
In response to the ACC recommendation on 6 December US Air Forces in Europe Commander General William Hobbins has directed the immediate stand-down of all 16th Air Force F-15C and D aircraft from the 493rd Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing, based at Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath in the UK. The F-15Es stationed at RAF Lakenheath are not affected.
С уважением, ID
