An F-15 Eagle Comes In for a Belly Landing
An F-15C belonging to the Oregon Air National Guard made a hard belly landing Saturday, May 2.
The aircraft appears to have had some problem with its landing gear, preventing it from lowering.
The aircraft appear to have sustained some damage in the incident but there otherwise were no reported injuries.
A F-15C Eagle fighter assigned to protect the airspace over the President of the United States experienced a landing gear malfunction Friday. The fighter jet’s landing wheels failed to lower, forcing the pilot making a “belly landing”. There were no reported injuries.
The incident took place on Saturday, May 2, in the skies over the Washington D.C. area. The jet, part of the 142nd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard, was carrying out a homeland defense mission as part of Operation Noble Eagle. Noble Eagle is designed to protect U.S. airspace to prevent another 9/11-style hijacked airliner attack.
The Air Force Airman/NCO/SNCO page on Facebook published a long distance photo of the jet. The aircraft appears to be sitting on the ground, landing gear retracted. The F-15C’s nose cone also appears to be missing, with the front of the aircraft flat. If true, that would expose the Eagle’s APG-63(V)3 advanced electronically scanned array radar to the elements and damage. The APG-63(V)3 is a relatively new radar upgrade installed in the 30+ year old F-15Cs designed to give the fighter a powerful detection edge in the air.
The Airman/NCO/SNCO page received the following photo, as well as note from source at the base:
Few hours ago, I witnessed two jets flying in for what looked like a landing, tailing jet was close by but slightly higher altitude. I looked away for a moment and when I looked back, there's a large cloud of pitch black smoke and another cloud of dirt.
The fighter made the emergency landing at Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington, located in Maryland. According to Defense News, the fighter was providing top cover for Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
The F-15C uses a tricycle landing gear system, with one wheel up front under the cockpit and two wheels under the rear fuselage. The landing gear system is electrically controlled and hydraulically operated. The aircraft also has a speed brake (see top), a large rectangular panel located behind the cockpit designed slow the plane down, but it does not appear to have been deployed.
The incident occurred less than a month after a similar incident involving an A-10 Warthog at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.
Source: Air Force Times
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