Air Force Releases Report on F-15 Crash
The US Air Force released the investigative report on the May 2013 crash of an F-15C Eagle off the coast of Japan:
The jet stopped responding to flight control inputs…The pilot was not able to recover from a left descending spiral — after trying for 20 seconds — and ejected at 4,500 feet above sea level.
While the board did cite mechanical failure, there were also indications the pilot should have been able to recover — but he may have been convinced it was unrecoverable:
The Accident Investigation Board president, Col. Terry Scott, found [a] lack of simulator emergency procedure training…
“Due to multiple conversations with the two pilots who experienced similar mishaps, [the pilot] may have determined that the [aircraft] was unrecoverable,” Scott wrote in the report. “I found with proper simulator emergency procedure training, the [pilot] might have been able to overcome his expectancy and restore flight control effectiveness” to the aircraft.
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