Nellis jets back in the air after crash of F-15

Jace Radke

Monday, March 28, 2005 | 9:19 a.m.

Flight operations by Nellis Air Force Base's 57th Wing were to resume this morning after being stopped Friday morning following the crash of an F-15C Eagle.

The $29.9 million fighter jet crashed on Bureau of Land Management property in Lincoln County about 50 miles north of Nellis Air Force Base. The pilot was able to safely eject from the single-seat fighter and suffered no injuries, Nellis officials said.

The crash was the second in a week for Nellis. On March 18, an F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed on a Nellis runway.

"Anytime you lose one airplane you are concerned, so you're obviously concerned when you lose two," said Brig. Gen. Greg Ihde, commander of the 57th Wing, which is responsible for all flying at Nellis. "We're going to get everyone together and see if there is anything we are doing different that needs to be corrected."

Ihde said Friday he didn't believe there was anything involved with training that caused the crash, but he said that the members of the 57th Wing will get together just to make sure.

Two separate safety investigation boards have been convened to determine the cause of the two crashes. The investigations are expected to take at least two months, Nellis officials said.

The F-15C that crashed Friday was assigned to the 422 Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis and was one of 19 F-15C Eagles assigned to the base. The pilot was on a routine training mission when he was forced to eject, Ihde said.

The fighter was not carrying any live ammunition, Ihde said.