Chafed Wire Led to F-22 Crash

A chafed electrical wire arced on an F-22, leading to an internal fire that caused the aircraft’s crash during a training mission at Tyndall AFB, Fla., last November, announced Air Combat Command. The pilot safely ejected, sustaining no significant injuries, but the F-22 was destroyed, according to ACC’s Aug. 9 release that discusses the findings of the command’s newly issued accident investigation board report. Total costs from the loss of the airplane and restoring the crash site are estimated at $149.6 million, states the release. The F-22 belonged to Tyndall’s 43rd Fighter Squadron. The accident investigators found that the chafed wire arcing led to a generator on the aircraft going offline. When the pilot attempted to restart the generator, the ensuing arc ignited misting hydraulic fluid, starting a fire in the F-22’s left accessory-drive bay. These events led to an unrecoverable situation for the pilot. The investigators also found that weather “substantially contributed” to the mishap, as “a solid, undercast cloud layer” limited recovery options, states the release.