F-22 crash

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nikola_281

New Member
I don't see that this was posted before and in case it is I would ask mods to delete this thread.

F-22 Crashes Near Edwards Air Force Base

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An F-22 Raptor, one of the Air Force's top-of-the line fighter jets, crashed Wednesday in the high desert of Southern California and there was no immediate word on whether the pilot ejected.

The jet crashed 35 miles northeast of the base at a location six miles north of Harbor Dry Lakebed, said Gary Strassburg, a Pentagon spokesman. He had no information about the area.

Rescue crews were en route and the status of the pilot was unknown, said Air Force Maj. David Small at the Pentagon.

Small said the jet, assigned to Edwards' 412th Test Wing, was on a test mission but he did not know its nature.

Call to the base public affairs phone numbers were answered by recording machines.

Designed for air dominance, the radar-evading stealthy F-22s each cost $140 million. The warplanes can carry air-to-air missiles but is capable of ground attack as well.

The $65 billion F-22 program is embattled, with some opponents contending that a different warplane under development, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is more versatile and less costly at $80 million per plane.

The U.S. is committed to 183 F-22, down from the original plan laid out in the 1980s to build 750.

Its prime contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., says there are 95,000 jobs at 1,000 companies connected to the F-22.

A spokesman for Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin referred all calls about the crash to the Air Force.

Lockheed is trying to convince the Pentagon to buy as many as 20 more F-22. The military is expected to signal if it wants more when the 2010 Defense Department budget is released next month.

The F-22 is able to fly at supersonic speeds without using afterburners. That allows it to reach and stay in a battlespace faster and longer without being easily detected.

The fighter, powered by two Pratt & Whitney engines, is 62 feet long, has a wingspan of 44 1/2 feet and is flown by a single pilot.
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I hope that the pilot is fine.
 
T

Type59

New Member
The fate of the pilot was not immediately known after the plane, according to BBC.

Is it customrary for US to ground all flights of F22 for a short period of time , to figure out what has happened?
 
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Gremlin29

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
Is it customrary for US to ground all flights of F22 for a short period of time , to figure out what has happened?
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In this case a safety stand down is 99.9% certain. Details and duration of course, will be predicated on numerous variables the public will not be privy to immediately.
 
M

Moebius

New Member
These are just snippets of the AP news update.

  • One of the Air Force's top-of-the-line F-22 fighter jets crashed Wednesday in the high desert of Southern California, killing a test pilot for prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.
  • A statement issued by Edwards said first responders transported Cooley from the crash scene to Victor Valley Community Hospital in Victorville, where he was pronounced dead.
  • The pilot was David Cooley, 49, a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined Lockheed Martin in 2003, the company said in a statement. It did not release any details of the accident, including whether Cooley attempted to eject.
 
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mercury99

New Member
Firing missile at supersonic

As I read on the other forum, the F-22 exploded while firing a missile at supersonic speed. The test was requested by new Obama administration.
 
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