A thorough investigation into the May 2023 crash of an F-15D Eagle has uncovered a combination of human and procedural errors that resulted in the loss of the $35.5 million aircraft.

The Air National Guard pilot from the 173rd Fighter Wing sustained only minor injuries after the jet veered off the runway and into an irrigation canal.

The Air Force safety investigation led by Col. Taylor Ferrell, Commander of the 12th Flying Training Wing, found a chain of failures at multiple levels.

The pilot, upon experiencing hydraulic failure, decided against using the emergency brake system, fearing it might blow the tires and cause loss of control, a decision influenced by previous experiences with brake issues in an F-15C.

However, miscommunication between the pilot and air traffic control was a critical factor.

With time running out, the pilot only sent the word “cable” to the tower, which misunderstood the pilot’s intentions and began lowering the cable.

Despite the pilot’s rapid correction, the message came too late, with air traffic control informing the pilot, “Cable coming down,” prompting the pilot to urgently request, “No, no, I need cable, cable up, cable up, cable up, cable up.”

The F-15 eventually rolled over with 1,500 feet of runway remaining.

The pilot veered to the right to avoid the runway’s lighting, skidded off the pavement and hit a berm on the canal’s north side before crashing into its southern bank and coming to a stop in the water.

While investigators determined it would have been possible for the pilot to try another landing, Taylor wrote that “due to the amount of time required for the [pilot] to assess the situation, the decision to remain on the [runway] was a valid alternative, considering the assumption that the departure-end arresting cable was in the ‘up’ position.”

Moreover, the report underscored deficiencies in maintenance practices, which contributed to the incident. Maintenance personnel failed to adequately troubleshoot the aircraft’s hydraulic system.

Maintainers had performed significant work on the system in the two weeks before the accident, but the aircraft didn’t return to flight until earlier on the day of the mishap.

This oversight, as Col. Ferrell noted, likely would have led to the aircraft being declared non-mission-capable had the correct procedures been followed.

Maintenance workers did not properly record their work and supervisors also did not review workplace forms to ensure they were adequately filled out, another factor that could have prevented the accident.

The incident, one of 11 aircraft losses the Air Force suffered in fiscal year 2023, comes at a time when the service is phasing out older F-15C and D-models in favor of the newer F-15EX Eagle II, reducing the older fleet size from 92 to 27 by the next fiscal year.

Relevant articles:
– Series of jet, staff failures faulted in 2023 F-15 crash , AirForceTimes.com, 06/06/2024
– Series of jet, staff failures faulted in 2023 F-15 crash, Yahoo! Voices, 06/05/2024
– USAF Pilot, Tower Errors Blamed For F-15 Mishap, Aviation Week, 06/05/2024
– How an F-15 Landed in a Ditch: Blame All Around, Air & Space Forces Magazine, 06/04/2024