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McDonnell Douglas
F-15 Eagle
Losses & Ejections

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 flamed out during ACM with F‑5Es into North Sea 15 miles SW of Doggersbank, off the coast of Cromer, Norfolk (UK)

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in email 25/01/2008

PHOTOS to ADD from desktop

I would like to add a few things to a couple of your F-15 crashes of which I have knowledge.  First the 80-0007 crash at Soesterberg.
80-0007 was selected to go to the show because it was a brand new jet that the 525 TFW had just received from the factory days before.  It had a flight time to Bitburg from St. Louis of 10.5 hours and then had one acceptance flight lasting about 1.2 hours before going to Soesterberg.  80-0007 was the newest F-15 that ever crashed with  less than 15 flying hours total.  The paint job was nice and didn't even need a touchup before going.  MSGT Ray Langhammer who was the production super on the trip is said to have commented to his troops after witnessing the crash, "well that one won't be needing a BPO (Basic Postflight) tonight".

in email 20th May 2008 *continued

 53 TFS

I was recently directed to your web site by a friend of mine. I was stationed at Bitburg Airbase and assigned to the 53rd and was sent to serve an 89 day tour on Zulu Alert. I was one of the ground crew who actually launched out 80-0025 off Zulu Alert December 22, 1982. I would appreciate any assistance you may have concerning where to get the Investigation Report.
 
When the jet did not return, myself and the other ground crew member involved with the launch were sequestered, drug tested, and "questioned" quite thoroughly. We were informed about the loss of cabin pressure but knowing the ECS system as I do, I find it hard to believe that would have caused such a catastrophe. I was not aware of any oxygen malfunction and only learned about it on your web-site.  
 
Any assistance you might offer would be greatly appreciated as this incident haunts me to this very day.
 
Best Regards,
Mike Fiore 
[in email 9th November 2007]

* continued
The second comment I have is about the Death of Captain Roether during a Zulu alert scramble from Bitburg in 80-0025.  During the time of the crash
the dedicated crew chiefs and their assistants were required to do their zulu time when their aircraft went and we worked our own jets.  I was the
DCC on 80-0020 and AIC Steven Zaloga was the DCC on 80-0025 on the day it crashed.  He launched the jet but his wasn't the one scheduled to fly.  My jet was in C bay and another was in D.  0025 was in B and another was in A. During the morning briefing we were told that C and D bays would scramble on any tango missions because Captain Roether had asked the Commander if he could scramble because it was his first scramble mission from Zulu which was agreed to.  At 1100 AM Captain Rother was standing ready next to the plane
which was odd since we didn't know what time we would scramble but he said it was between 11:30 and 12:00.  The door where he was standing was just outside the office door where I was so we talked while we waited and everyone else was getting ready to eat lunch. Capt Roether didn't eat and was very anxious about his first scramble.  About 11:50 the Claxon sounded and we all got our jets cranked.  A and B stalls taxied with no maintenance problems and took off in the required 5 minutes.  After setting up our parking spots for the recovery we went into the office  .  About 5 minutes after we got into the office the AFN radio reported a F-15 had crashed from Bitburg.  We all thought it was a different jet since the news had it so quickly but it was 0025.  When #2 landed the cops were to escort the video tape of the entire incident to the Wing Commander.  It was determined the aircraft crashed due to a cabin pressure problem since it had 2 previous repeat discrepancies.  The first one was a test and a CND (could not duplicate the problem).  The second time they changed the pressure and vent valve located in bay 5 and it checked good.  The third time it crashed.  It was also noted that when Captain Roether was taxiing and taking off he clearly didn't have his oxygen mask to his face but can't say if he ever did put it on before the crash.  Seeing the report would be interesting.

in email 20th May 2008

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The 2 Jan 86 crash in Iceland of tail 80-0037.

The pilot Steve Nelson was killed.  He had just previously converted
from the F-4.  I flew F-4s with Steve and left Iceland in December.

Tom Martin
in email 4th April 2008

As a former egress systems technician, I love your site and I thought I'd offer the following account regarding the USAF F-15 mid-air collision listed on 7 Jan 1986:
 
I personally witnessed this horrible accident from the ground at Zweibrucken Air Base in Germany.  As I was performing some mid-afternoon maintenance on an RF-4C Phantom which was parked outside, I observed the two mishap F-15's, which were from Bitburg Air Base located northwest of Zweibrucken, flying towards the south at approximately 7,000 - 10,000 feet in standard wingman formation.  When almost directly overhead, the two F-15's began to bank towards the west. The first jet (#1) was in lead position and appeared to be turning tighter than the second jet (#2) which was trailing slightly behind and off of #1's starboard wing.  As the turn progressed, #2 appeared to be either trying to catch up to #1 in order to maintain his formation position or maneuvering to change his position when he suddenly crashed into #1 with #2's twin vertical tail fins appearing to impact directly beneath #1's forward fuselage.  I did not observe any type of canopy jettison or ejection from #1 but I witnessed an object coming out of #1's cockpit which I was later informed had been #1's ejection seat and pilot being forced upward thru the canopy and out of the aircraft by the impact.  As the two aircraft separated after impact, the canopy of #2 jettisoned and the pilot ejected. 
 
At this time, I briefly looked around me as coworkers who also observed the accident made various exclamations like "Holy shit!".  When I again looked up, I observed the two pilots descending by their parachutes as the two F-15's were falling from the sky.  One F-15 appeared to be falling directly towards the base while the other followed a trajectory towards the nearby village of Rimschweiler which was located just outside the western perimeter of our base.  In addition to the two falling aircraft, we were also concerned about the debris we observed falling towards us which consisted of external tanks, a couple large tail fin or wing segments, etc. and thus we quickly sought cover inside the nearby hardened aircraft shelter.   
 
Shortly thereafter, both aircraft and the debris began impacting the ground with one aircraft crashing into the village of Rimschweiler where it killed a German civilian who was working inside a barn-type structure.  If I remember correctly, the second aircraft impacted a vacant field on or near the air base.  The debris fell not only upon the base where it damaged several cars & structures but also upon the nearby autobahn and areas surrounding the base without causing any major damage.  Fortunately, no other personnel were seriously injured or killed on the ground.  
 
After hearing the two aircraft impact the ground, I and the others cautiously peered skyward from within the aircraft shelter's open doors to observe one of the pilots still descending by parachute (later determined to be the pilot of #1).  He didn't appear to be controlling his descent or making any movements as he glided towards a group of trees where rescue personnel subsequently found him to be a fatality. NOTE: at the time, there was some uncertainty over how pilot #1 manually separated from the seat and deployed his parachute since his ACES-II ejection seat was not fired (this was confirmed during a cursory visual assessment at the site of seat/ground impact which indicated the twin side-mounted ejection handles were still stowed, the pitch stabilization control assembly/vernier rocket located on the bottom of the seat was not activated, and the drogue/stabilization chute was not deployed).  The main parachute may have been manually deployed by activation of what was then known as the emergency restraint release handle (now known as the emergency manual chute handle) but doing so would've required the pilot to first squeeze/pull the handle and then manually push upwards on the parachute container subsequent to the seat being forced out of the aircraft (this scenario would of course depend upon the pilot being conscious and physically capable of performing the required actions).  Possible impact damage to the seat structure incurred during collision also may have activated the emergency restraint release handle or associated mechanical linkages resulting in uncommanded pilot/seat separation and parachute deployment.  Unfortunately, I didn't personally examine the seat or read an official investigation report for this mishap and thus I can't confirm if/how the emergency manual chute system was activated.
                                   
The second pilot whom I'd earlier observed descending by parachute was either out of my field of vision or had successfully landed by this time.

To this day.........I can remember the events that happened very clearly.  It was a very emotional event and still is something that sticks with me.  It was the first time I had read an eye witness account of the crash.  While he was watching the crash I was waiting for 0032 to land, it was "not a good day"
 

Lost when the pilot was teaching a younger   pilot how to ridge hop a mountain.  Unfortunately the aircraft struck   the top of the ridge and disintegrated killing the pilot.

Terry Hill
in email Friday 3rd August 2007

F-15A 77-153 was my friend's personal aircraft when he was with the   9TFS, 49TFW but was not flying it when the accident occurred.  77-153 
collided head on with F-15A 77-083, 8 miles Northwest of Bingham, New   Mexico.  The collision occurred when a flight of 4 F-15's were   performing interception practice.  3 aircraft were flying in trail   formation with the fourth making head on intercepts.  The first   intercept had occurred when the pilot of 77-153 mistook the number 3   aircraft as number 2.  Focused in on number 3 the pilot of 153 did   not see 083 the number 2 aircraft in trail until the last second.    Breaking hard 153 tore the radome off of 083, 153 then fell into a   flat inverted spin at which time one of the wings departed the   aircraft. 

The pilot of 153 was able to eject even though he was   forced forward and doubled over the control stick.  The pilot of 153   sustained facial injuries when the blood vessels in his face burst   due to the G forces and improper positioning for ejection.  The pilot   of 083 was able to nurse his aircraft back to Holloman, AFB for an   emergency landing.  Upon landing the pilot of 083 retarded the   throttles at which time the both flamed out due to FOD damage.  083   also sustained damage to one of the wings  and took almost a year of repairs to return to flight status.

Terry Hill
in email Friday 3rd August 2007

Also... the mid-air collision on September 12,1986 of 77-0153 and 77-0086 (Both were assigned to the 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron) occurred during a routine training flight when the pilot of 77-0153 unknowingly maneuvered his aircraft into the path of 77-0086.  Although both engines incurred severe "foreign object ingestion" damage, the entire radome was reduced to a splintered mass, the radar antenna had been ripped from the bulkhead it was mounted to, numerous avionics components and access panels had been dislodged and were either ingested or plummeted to the desert, a portion of the right wingtip was missing and numerous "minor" impact damages to the vertical and horizontal stabilizers... the pilot was able to fly it back to base with minimal effort.  This aircraft (77-0086) sat on airframe jacks for quite some time as it was repaired in our maintenance hanger.

The pilot from 77-0153 safely ejected with minor injuries.  It was rumored he had been found hitch-hiking back to base... but I tend to not believe that.

Ken Thompson
in email 22nd October 2007

Crashed when the aircraft was taking off and a rudder   malfunction caused an uncommanded roll from which the pilot could not   recover.  Terry Hill
in email Friday 3rd August 2007

I sincerely hope you are still monitoring this as I have some more information for you regarding two F-15A incidents at Holloman AFB, New Mexico.

I was stationed at Holloman AFB as an F-15 crewchief from 12/1985 until12/1989 in the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 49th Tactical Fighter Wing.  I had the privilege to launch and recover Lieutenant Colonel Gene Jackson a few times during my time at this base.  He was one of the few high-ranking pilots I ever encountered that would treat enlisted personnel with respect and with light-hearted banter.

During the early afternoon of March 9, 1987 F-15A 77-0075 (Assigned to the 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron) was departing Holloman AFB enroute to the Hawaiian Air National Guard for a permanent transfer.  In order to save time following an extensive and lengthy transfer inspection it was decided that the aircraft would complete its required Operational Check Flight (OCF) while configured for long range having three FULL 600-gallon external fuel tanks installed, which is totally against standard operating procedures.  If the aircraft performed without problems the pilot agreed to continue his flight to Hawaii.  All ground checks were completed with no noted anomalies and the flight was permitted.

Almost immediately after rotation the F-15 pitched up into an excessively high AOA not able to gain enough airspeed to climb rapidly.  Numerous times the pilot was told to eject but he refused stating the aircraft was too unstable and every time he released the controls the aircraft started rolling towards base housing, the flight line, or the highway.  He fought the aircraft until it was no longer a threat to anyone but was unable to eject in time to save his own life.  I consider him an "unsung hero" and I have found it difficult to locate any information about him.

AFHRA Personal Papers - Lt. Col. Gene Jackson

Whether is collided with something like a telephone pole or telephone wires, as some rumours stated, or the aircraft just stalled too close to the ground I don't know.  I'm also not 100% positive about the cause except I vaguely remember being told it had been traced to rod-end link connecting two hydro-mechanical flight control units that had not been properly safe tied.

Ken Thompson
in email 22nd October 2007

 77-0075 was the first F-15 I ever worked on.  It was in my "realm of responsibilities" until it was scheduled for transfer to the Hawaiian ANG.  It had also been used extensively as a demonstration aircraft when our squadron (9th AMU / 9th TFS) was tasked with the performances.
 

Mike,

I revisited your website this evening and read the entries from Terry Hill.  I was mistaken about the tail number 77-0086 for the incident on 9/12/1986.  It is absolutely true it was really 77-0083.  I believe my errant memory is recalling an F-15 I worked at either Bitburg AB or Edwards AFB years later.

Also, seems he has somewhat confirmed the info I had regarding the cause of 77-0075's crash.  One of the two hydro-mechanical units is called the Aileron-Rudder Interconnect and deals with the operation of those control surfaces.

Ken

Thanks to webmaster www.slobberinwolfhounds.com for update 14th August 2007

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after collision with F‑161379‑0419/HI 466th TFS 419th TFW (which landed safely),