F-15s Grounded

crw59 · 2008-01-11T04:28:27+00:00

updated 41 minutes agoFlaw may permanently ground 160 jets, Air Force general saysSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: General: Manufacturing flaw may lead to suspension of quarter offleetF-15C Eagle broke apart in mid-air in November; the pilot survivedReport: Defective metal beam in the airframe disintegrated duringflightSome aircraft remain grounded as the Air Force continues toinvestigateNext Article in U.S. =BBWASHINGTON (CNN) -- A manufacturing defect blamed for the mid-airbreakup of an F-15 Eagle fighter may cause the Air Force to ground aquarter of its fleet of those warplanes permanently, a top generalsaid Thursday.The mid-air breakup of an F-15 fighter jet is being blamed on a amanufacturing defect.Gen. John Corley, the head of the U.S. Air Combat Command, said about160 of the jets may never return to service after an investigationinto the November 2 crash that left the plane's pilot seriouslyinjured.The single-seat F-15C broke up in a 500-mph turn during a combattraining mission over Missouri, with its fuselage breaking in halfbehind the cockpit, an Air Force probe of the crash determined.Investigators concluded that a critical piece of the jet's airframebroke during the flight because of a manufacturing defect. A defectivelongeron -- a metal strut that runs lengthwise down the fuselage --was cut improperly by the manufacturer, Boeing, and led to a series ofcracks over the plane's lifespan, Corley said. Watch a report on theplane and its problems =BB"Some of these airplanes will never return to flight," Corley said."The age, the fatigue on these airplanes has been manifest as welooked under the hood extensively over these last two months."The Air Force has been flying the twin-engine, supersonic F-15 sincethe early 1970s. The C model involved in November's crash is creditedwith 34 of the 37 "kills" credited to Air Force pilots in the 1991Persian Gulf war, according to Thursday's report on the accident.Don't MissAir Force again grounds most of F-15 fleetThe service has...

Jan 11, 2008 21 Replies

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Rufus 18 years ago

THAT'S the page I was thinking of...and danggit - I DID bookmark it.

Likely all As and Bs as the page says; I forget if the MO Gurad was flying Cs or As when I left STL. The E is really the king in today's world, and that production line is still moving.

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Rufus 18 years ago

Yeah - that was it, and I had it all along...I should learn to look at my own bookmarks before I go diving into Google...

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