F-15 Draft Report

The accident investigation board looking into the F-15C crash that precipitated an extended stand-down of all A-D model F-15s, has completed its initial work and has circulated a draft report to technical review committees, Air Combat Command officials said Dec. 18. The report, directed by 1st Operations Group deputy commander Col. William Wignall, was “completed on time,” an ACC official said. The final report is due to Gen. John Corley, ACC chief, by Jan. 2, but Corley may waive that due date if he thinks the AIB needs more time to explore the situation. The report will focus on torque stress in longerons aft of the cockpit. The suspect components are not frequently inspected because they are deemed “life of the aircraft” parts, one ACC official said. Modifications to the fleet over time have shifted stress to areas originally not intended to bear it. Early guesses about the cause of the problem seem to be bearing out.