Sure Enough...

A major flight-control malfunction caused the pilot to lose control of an F-15E Strike Eagle, forcing the crew to eject during a training mission June 4, according to officials. The accident occurred about 25 miles west of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (NC).

The pilot and instructor pilot ejected safely and were recovered by the local volunteer fire rescue team. The crew sustained minor injuries during the ejection.

The aircraft crashed in an unpopulated wooded area and was destroyed. Officials estimate the accident cost at more than $40 million. The aircraft was assigned to the 334th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson AFB. [Note: the wrecked F-15E above is for illustration purposes only; it was lost a year earlier --ed.]

Typically, an F-15E crew is comprised of a pilot and weapons system officer; however, since this basic fighter-maneuvers flight was part of a training syllabus for the pilot, there was an instructor pilot in the back seat.

According to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released September 2, investigators determined a defective right-stabilator actuator caused the accident. The defect made the aircraft uncontrollable.

[Thanks to ACC News Service --ed.]

FMI: www.af.mil