Two F-16D fighters grounded at Nellis

Inspections for canopy cracks have grounded more than half the Air Force fleet of F-16D Fighting Falcon jets including two assigned to Nellis Air Force Base, a base spokeswoman said Wednesday.

There are 157 F-16Ds in the fleet, of which 82 are affected by a grounding order.

Seven of the fleet of two-seat, F-16D jets are assigned to the 57th Wing Maintenance Group at Nellis, which maintains jets for the United States Air Force Weapons School, 1st Lt. Sarah Ruckriegle said. Of those, two assigned to the school’s 16th Weapons Squadron have been grounded.

Flight operations were temporarily suspended starting Aug. 1, “and these two F-16D model aircraft continue to stand-down as of today,” she wrote in an email Wednesday. She said the two affected jets “are expected to be repaired within four to nine months.”

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2.