F-15 Eagle crashes near Nellis Air Force Base

Monday, March 17, 2003 | 11:26 a.m.

An F-15C Eagle, the type of fighter jet that scored the majority of air-to-air victories in the Persian Gulf War, crashed at 8:52 a.m. today northeast of Las Vegas, Air Force officials said.

The only occupant, the pilot, safely ejected from the aircraft, authorities said. Air Force officials will investigate the accident. More details about the crash were not available this morning.

The crash of the $30 million aircraft occurred in the general area of where Nellis Air Force Base officials have attempted to keep residential and business developments from spreading under its flight paths.

The concern expressed by Nellis officials is that the area is too dangerous for bomb-laden planes en route to train at the 3 million-acre Test and Training Range in the desert north of Las Vegas.

As the valley's population continues to boom, commercial and residential developers have eyed the area. The 21,000 Apex Industrial Park 15 miles northeast of Las Vegas sits directly under the base's flight path.

There have been several crashes of military crafts of various types at or around Nellis in recent years. Late last year two A-10 Thunderbolts collided in midair during a training mission northwest of Las Vegas, killing one pilot.The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather tactical fighter. In the Persian Gulf war the plane accounted for 34 of the 37 air-to-air victories.

Eagles have since been deployed to support Operation Southern Watch, the patrolling of the U.N.-sanctioned no-fly zone in Southern Iraq.