A major 
rescue effort is underway to locate the F-22 pilot missing since his Raptor crashed Tuesday in a remote, rugged area about 100 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, during nighttime training. The aircraft was assigned to the 3rd Wing at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Elmendorf spokesman AIC Christopher Gross told the Daily Report late Thursday US East Coast time that base officials “know where the [crash] site is” and are “in the process of getting people and supplies” there. That’s no easy task. “The training area where the F-22 crashed is larger than the state of Vermont,” said Col. Jack McMullen, 3rd Wing commander in a base release issued late Thursday. The area has no maintained roads in the winter. “When you factor in sub-zero temperatures and the potential for heavy snowfall, you see this is truly a massive undertaking,” he said. While the Air Force has not officially released the pilot’s name, the Jackson Citizen Patriot, a Michigan newspaper, reported Thursday that he is Capt. Jeffrey A. Haney, citing a family member. In addition to HH-60 rescue helicopters and an HC-130 recue tanker, a Global Hawk remotely piloted surveillance aircraft has been supporting the rescue activities from the air, said Gross.
Air Combat Command will hold its distinguished William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons competition in March after it was postponed last year.
