A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet crashed at a Florida base on Monday and ended up nose down on the runway after an emergency landing.
The F-22, which costs an estimated $150 million, crashed at Eglin Air Force Base at around 3.30pm on Monday.
The Air Force said the jet experienced an emergency during landing, describing the incident as a ‘ground mishap’.
The pilot was taken to the base’s flight medical facility for evaluation – it is not clear whether they suffered any injuries as a result of the crash.
The F-22 was pictured with its nose touching the runway with the canopy open as crew members worked on repairing the jet in the evening.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet crashed at a Florida base on Monday and ended up nose down on the runway after an emergency landing
The F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet similar to the one shown here crashed at Eglin Air Force Base at around 3.30pm on Monday
Fire crews had rushed onto the runway as soon as the crash occurred, according to the base.
‘An F-22 Raptor, assigned to the 325th Fighter Wing, experienced a ground mishap on the flightline here at approximately 3.30pm on March 15,’ said a statement from the base.
‘The F-22 experienced an emergency during landing, but landed safely. There was one person on board.
‘Fire crews responded immediately and the pilot was transported to flight medicine for an evaluation.’
The base added that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the ‘mishap’ is underway.
Eglin Air Force Base is located in northern Florida, about 40 miles east of Pensacol
The F-22 was part of the 325th Fighter Wing, which is based at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City.
But after Hurricane Michael hit Tyndall in 2018 and left the base in ruins, one of the wing’s F-22 squadrons has been using the Eglin Air Force Base in northern Florida, about 40 miles east of Pensacola.
The sprawling Eglin reservation covers hundreds of thousands of acres across Northwest Florida, USA Today reports.
The Florida Air Force base has been no stranger to expensive crashes.
On 19 May 2020, a F-35 stealth fighter jet crashed at the base just days after a F-22 crashed at the same airfield.
A F-35 stealth fighter jet similar to the one shown here crashed at Eglin Air Force base on 19 May 2020. The pilot successfully ejected from the plane and is in a stable condition
The pilot of the fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II ejected successfully from the jet and was taken to a local hospital but was in a stable condition.
Four days earlier, another pilot successfully ejected from a F-22 Raptor fighter jet that crashed during a training flight at the Eglin Air Force Base.
The crash took place northeast of the base on a training range, and there was no damage to people or property when the jet hit the ground, the Air Force says.
No explanation was given for the crash.
The F-22 was part of the 325th Fighter Wing, which is based at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City. But after Hurricane Michael hit Tyndall in 2018 and left the base in ruins (pictured), one of the wing’s F-22 squadrons has been using the Eglin Air Force Base
The pilot was taken to the Eglin base hospital for observation. He was in stable condition in the company of friends and family.
Prior accidents in 2004, 2009 and 2010 destroyed three F-22s, while other jets were taken out of service due to old age of the airframes.
Each F-22 costs about $150million and the overall cost to develop, produce and upgrade the fighter jets was $67billion. The jets were built between the mid-1990s and December 2011.
Defense officials decided not to reorder the Raptors, leaving the Air Force to start acquiring F-15s from Boeing in 2020, after a 16-year break.
F-22s are considered so top secret that all of its cockpit instruments and displays are classified, so no photos of its interior have been confirmed.
Unlike other fighter jets, US officials banned the sale of F-22s to other countries, including allies, in 1998, as a way to prevent the stealth technology from being obtained by Russia and China.