F-15s kept on ground

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force has indefinitely grounded all Boeing Co. F-15 fighter jets after a plane flown by the Missouri Air National Guard crashed last week during a training exercise.

"The cause of that accident is still under investigation. However, preliminary findings indicate that a possible structural failure of the aircraft may have occurred," the Air Force said in a statement released late Sunday.

Maj. Cristin Marposon, an Air Force spokeswoman, said Monday that the country's fleet of 676 F-15s, including mission critical jets, were grounded Saturday for "airworthiness concerns."

Capt. Jessica Martin, a spokeswoman at Nellis Air Force Base, said Monday that all F-15s at the Las Vegas base have been grounded.

She said there are about 35 F-15s at Nellis including those in the 57th Wing and some assigned to the 53rd Wing out of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., that are stationed at Nellis in the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron.

The F-15s at Nellis are used primarily for air combat training exercises including those in the 65th Aggressor Squadron, which portray enemy aircraft.

While the F-15 is grounded, the Air Force said it would rely on Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-16 fighter jet, and other aircraft, for routine missions. However, the F-15 will remain available for combat or other emergency situations, Marposon said. F-15s were scrambled in domestic airspace on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Air Force said it will produce an investigative report on Friday's crash near Salem, Mo., within 60 days.

The grounding of an aircraft is not common, Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Bentley said Monday, adding that she was unsure when the service last took this step.

"It's not a decision we made lightly," Bentley said. "Until we can find out what the problem is, it's the safest thing to do."

Boeing spokeswoman Patricia Frost said the company was cooperating with the Air Force, but could not provide additional comment because of the pending investigation.

Col. Robert Leeker, commander of the 131st Fighter Wing, said Friday the plane had been among four planes split into pairs that were engaging in one-on-one training flights in which speeds of 400 to 450 mph are typical. The other planes returned safely.

A 10-year veteran of the guard whose name and rank were not released safely ejected from the aircraft when it crashed in Dent County, Mo. The pilot, who suffered a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and minor cuts and bruises, was released Saturday from a hospital. The one-seat plane, a 1980 model worth $40 million, was assigned to the 131st Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard base at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

This is not the first time an F-15 has crashed this year. In May, the fighter jet crashed just outside of Vincennes, in southwestern Indiana during a flight practice with four F-16 jets from the Indiana Air National Guard's 181st Fighter Wing, based in Terre Haute. In June, another F-15 jet from the 142nd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard based in Oregon, went down in the Pacific Ocean during a training mission. And in a separate incident in June, an F-15 crashed near Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

Marposon said the decision by the Air Force to ground the F-15s was based solely on the accident in Missouri.

F-15s are located in bases throughout the United States including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as Japan and the Middle East.

Review-Journal writer Keith Rogers contributed to this report.