F-117A: Loss of #85-801

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Page born: April 01 2002

Aircraft Losses

Capt. John B. Mills (USAF)
Bandit #402 (May 20, 1992)
August 4, 1992
F-117A #85-801
Cause: Improper reinstallation of a bleed air duct

On August 4, 1992, F-117A #85-801 piloted by Capt. John B. Mills assigned to the 416th FS crashed at 9:20 PM shortly after taking off for a night mission from Holloman Air Force Base about 8 miles northeast of the base. Almost immediately after takeoff (his callsign was SHABA 67), his Black Jet had gone into an uncommanded roll and quickly caught fire. As it streaked out of control across the sky, the captain managed to eject safely before the plane exploded and plummeted to earth in a sparsely populated area near a trailer park causing a trailer to suffer some minor damage. The former A-10 pilot landed 1/2 mile from the crash site. Before hitching a ride back to Holloman with a highway patrolman, he found that he had sustained only a cut on the chin and a few bruises.

His aircraft, number 801 "The Perpetrator" had flown 38 combat missions over Iraq without so much as a nick from triple-A, but was now a $42.6 million pile of wreckage spread across the desert floor. The wreckage was declared a "national security area" while investigators inspected the wreckage and attempted to discover the cause. Crash investigators believed that improper reinstallation of a bleed air duct before Capt. Mills' flight caused malfunctions in the Nighthawk's hydraulic and flight control system.

[Mutt Gate Guard at the Skunk Works. ()]

The right wing of #801 was salvaged and is currently viewable today. The right wing of #801 was 90% rebuilt and now serves as the left wing on the "Mutt" Gate Guardian infront of the Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif.

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