Defective Beam Cited in F-15 Crash

[unhappycamper]

Defective Beam Cited in F-15 Crash
Associated Press | January 10, 2008

WASHINGTON - An Air Force investigation of the crash last fall of an F-15C Eagle fighter jet concluded that a defective metal beam in the frame cracked, causing it to disintegrate during flight.

In a report being released Thursday, obtained in advance by The Associated Press, Air Force investigators said they had found the sole reason for the accident was the faulty support beam, called a longeron, which failed to meet the manufacturer's specifications.

The investigation was led by Air Force Col. William Wignall.

"The accident investigation board president (Wignall) found, by clear and convincing evidence, the cause of this accident was a failure of the upper right longeron, a critical support structure in the F-15C aircraft," the report says.

About 20 minutes after takeoff from an airfield near St. Louis on Nov. 2, the forward fuselage of Maj. Stephen Stilwell's $42 million F-15C Eagle shook violently and then broke apart 18,000 feet above the ground. Stilwell, his left shoulder dislocated and his left arm shattered, barely had time to safely eject as pieces of his aircraft tumbled from the sky over the Missouri countryside.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,159762,00.html?wh=wh

[barbtries]

1. 42 million dollars

and they couldn't afford to put it together right?! what does the ceo of that company make?

hell in a handbasket, hell in a handbasket...

[Catch22Dem]

2. It's a good aircraft

But it's been in service for a very long time. The A/B models since the early-mid seventies and the C/D models since the late seventies and early eighties. The F-15 is put through some ridiculous stresses. I worked on this aircraft for years. I'll stand by her. She's a good bird, but time has taken its toll. It sounds foolish, but it makes me sad.

$42 million is like flea market prices compared to the F-22 they're going to replace them with. Those bad boys are about $140 million each. :(

[icnorth]

3. Don't have a link for this but...

as I was watching a news item yesterday, (it may have been CNN) I noted a couple of things:

(a) The defective metal beam was actually a design flaw as well as the skin. The rib and skin were reportedly both too thin and an inherent weakness in all the F 15's.

(b)I believe they also said the F15's constitute about a third of the fighter force and will be grounded because of metal fatigue. If I heard incorrectly would some of you please correct me on this.