God and Country

The Air Force has reportedly concluded the May 2012 loss of an F-15E in “Southwest Asia” was due to an engine malfunction.

The right engine caught on fire due to a “rare ignition of the titanium components within the engine,” according to the investigation, which was released by Air Combat Command on Wednesday. Investigators could not determine what sparked the fire.

Both crewmembers successfully ejected.

The Air Force reported that an F-15E Strike Eagle crashed “in Southwest Asia” on a local training mission.  Both crew members were reported safe.  This is the second F-15E crash in the AOR since the March crash that killed pilot Capt Francis Imlay.

In Utah, the Air Force said an F-16 crashed, with the pilot successfully ejecting.

As is the norm, the crashes will be investigated by a board, and the results released some months from now.