A U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle from the 67th Fighter Squadron takes off from the runway Oct. 12, 2017, at Kadena AB, Japan. Air Force photo by SrA. Quay Drawdy.
Kadena AB, Japan, will resume F-15 operations on Wednesday following a brief stand down after Monday’s crash of an Eagle into the seas near Okinawa.
The 18th Wing at Kadena conducted an inspection of all of its F-15s, and airmen reviewed initial facts and circumstances of the mishap to determine the base’s F-15 fleet is safe, according to an 18th Wing release.
“In the last 24 hours, we’ve inspected all of our F-15s, and we are confident they are safe to resume training,” said Col. Richard Tanner, vice commander of the 18th Wing, in a statement. “At the same time, we have reinforced the importance of safety and adherence to flight regulations with all of our pilots.”
On Monday morning, the pilot was forced to eject during a routine training flight at about 6:36 a.m. local time. The pilot was rescued by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and taken to a hospital on Camp Foster. On Tuesday, the pilot’s condition had been upgraded to “fair” from the initial “serious” condition, according to Kadena.