By Michael Sirak
Having already cleared its F-15E Strike Eagle multirole fighter aircraft to return to flight, the Air Force has now given the go-ahead for its F-15A and F-15C Eagle air superiority fighters and their two-seat F-15B and F-15D trainer variants to resume flight operations upon undergoing a safety inspection, according to service officials.
The Air Force grounded its fleet of about 670 F-15s on Nov. 3 after the crash the previous day of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C under circumstances that indicated catastrophic structural failure of the aircraft (Defense Daily, Nov. 14, Nov. 19).
While an accident investigation board (AIB) continues its research to determine the root cause of the mishap, the general who oversees the Air Force’s fighter wings said last week he was lifting the flight ban on the F-15 A/B/C/Ds.
“I have directed each F-15 aircraft be inspected and cleared before returning to operational status,” Gen. John Corley, commander of Air Combat Command (ACC), said Nov. 21 in a written message to airmen explaining the lifting of the grounding. ACC is headquartered at Langley AFB, Va.
Corley said the Air Force has 442 A- to D-model F-15s. As of yesterday, 325 of them have been inspected and allowed to return to flight status, an ACC spokeswoman told Defense Daily. Of the service’s 224 F-15Es, 219 have already been cleared for flight, she noted.
Corley said the Air Force was accepting a degree of risk in returning the Eagles to flight. However, he added, “We accept this risk because of our overriding duty to provide unrivaled combat air power for the defense of our country.”
The AIB is now focusing its investigation on the area just aft of the cockpit and slightly forward of the inlets, Corley said. A thorough inspection and repair of all structural components in this area has been mandated, he said.
The Air Force was able to clear the F-15E Strike Eagles for a return to flight status since these platforms are the newest in the F-15 family, have been exposed to less stress and are structurally different than the A- to D-model Eagles, Corley said. However, prior to a return to flight, each Strike Eagle also had to undergo a safety inspection.
The F-15A/B entered service around 1975. The F-15C/D became operational at the end of the same decade. F-15Es, all of which are two seaters, average about 15 years in age.
The Strike Eagles are modified to carry bombs for striking ground targets, but they retain their ability to engage in aerial combat.