Title: Page born: April 01 2002

Test Mishaps

The following are accounts of mishaps that have occurred involving the F-117A. Mishaps are classified into three categories:

• Class A-involving a death or aircraft damage of at least $1 million
• Class B-at least $200,000 in damages
• Class C-at least $10,000 in damage.

Baja Scorpions

On January 27, 1982 FSD #3 (782) made it's seventh flight. Modified multipurpose display indicators (MDIs) had been installed, and LADC pilot Tom Morganfeld was to conduct a thorough airborne evaluation, as he recalls, "Of course, I thought it would be real easy, and the beautiful weather made it seem more like a pleasure ride than a test hop. Little did I know! Due to a maintenance error, the nose wheel fell off the airplane at take-off rotation. It took a couple of seconds to sort out the problem, as I had several people telling me of my plight simultaneously on the radio. I climbed to altitude while we all talked the problem over. There was even some talk of a controlled ejection, which I summarily rejected. Instead, I just drilled around with my gear still down and completed my test objectives, while the fire crews foamed the runway. The landing went well and the airplane was back flying within days. I did have the machinists' union file a grievance against me, however, for grinding on a nose strut without having the proper job classification! All in good fun and in keeping with our close, team oriented atmosphere."

On September 25, 1985 the left tail fin "fluttered off" of FSD-2 (#781) while doing a pull-up maneuver during a daylight weapons test at Groom Lake. As the black tail with its large white 781 fell to earth, the pilot, Maj. John Beesley, was unaware anything had happened (because of the computer compensation) until the chase plane told him. He brought the aircraft in for a safe landing, and was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Restrictions were placed on certain regimes of flight (high speed) and thermoplastic fins eventually replaced the all-moving metal ones. (This incident is on file because the whole test was being filmed, but the footage not yet been released to the public.)

Unknown F-117A

The following account of a fire on the runway was published in "The Combat Edge", October 1993. Accompanying the article is a picture of the ground crew. The members were: Sgt. Mark Accord, TSgt. Ronald Machado, SSgt. Carl Harris, SSgt Peter Wojtak, SSgt Lowell Ashlock, MSgt. Michael Parker, Sgt. David Holloway, (all from then the 49 FW at Holloman AFB) and TSgt Ralph Poole.(From the 57 FW at Nellis AFB). "While deployed to Nellis AFB NV in support of F-117A Night Vision Goggle (NVG) test, an extremely critical ground emergency occurred. The aircraft (possibly 843?) was preparing for the night test mission consisting of an F-117A and an F-16C. The Nellis ramp was in the middle of a Night Green Flag Exercise launch of over 38 aircraft taxiing on the aerodome proper and conducting takeoff operations. As the pilot of the F-117A, I initiated auxiliary power unit (APU) startup. The first attempt at APU start resulted in a false start requiring the pressurized air start system (PASS) bottle to be recharged. It is probable that while the recharge procedure was taking place, an operation that takes about 5 minutes, the APU fuel was continuing to pump JP-4 at the rate of approximately 1 gallon per minute into the API. As I attempted a second APU start, a serious malfunction occurred where the ignition process lit approximately 6 gallons of JP-4 creating a fireball that totally engulfed the vertical fins (approximately 16'into the air) and continuing approximately halfway up the spine of the fuselage. The fire was of such intensity that only the quick reaction of the entire ground crew and the transient alert ground troop observing engine start, prevented the loss of a national asset. Their quick reaction in notifying me of the fire allowed me to exit the aircraft within 60 seconds after the fire begin. By the time airfield emergency crews arrived at the aircraft, the fire had been extinguished by the aircraft ground crew. Not only did this ground crew save an F-117A, it should be reemphasized that Nellis ramp was crowded with aircraft in all states of prestart and start readiness. Their quick reaction prevented the possibility of a chain reaction fire situation. "

Dragon Test Team

F-117A #825 (borrowed from 7th CTS by Dragon Test Team)

On June 4, 1997 a brake failure caused a landing gear collapse on 7th CTF assigned F-117A #825 during a landing at Holloman AFB during a borrowed Dragon Test Team sortie. The pilot, Maj. Jonathon E Bachman, Detachment 1, 79th Test and Evaluation Group (Eglin AFB, Fla.), was applying the binders to complete the otherwise normal full stop when a failure in the antiskid system disabled effective braking. Antiskid off, drag chute deploy, nose well steering engage, and brakes reapply were noneffective as the rough wild ride ended with the barrier housing showing all three gear the meaning of respect. Maj. Bachman, egressed with a severe back injury.

Maj. Bachman was initially transported to Holloman's base hospital, where he was determined to be stable and in good condition, and transferred to William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso for further evaluation. When the gear sheared off, Maj. Bachman was subjected to approximately 35 to 40 Gs in the vertical direction, causing him to spend three months in a body cast before being able to return to flying status.

This incident was originally listed as a Class B mishap, later upgraded to a Class A mishap. (As a note: Some reports indicate that the gear actually penetraded upward THROUGH the wing. It hasn't been decided yet whether this aircraft will be repaired. Currently the airframe is in a hanger at the Skunk Works at Plant 42, Palmdale, California.)

UPDATE:
Aircraft #825 was finally repaired and made it's FCF on Thursday, April 12th, 2001 from the Skunk Works in Palmdale in the new "white" paint sceme.

F-117A #837

Also featured in that July 1998 issue of the ACC's "Combat Edge", was SrA Stephen LaPorte, a crew cheif assigned to the Det 1, 79 TEG "Dragon Test Team". On 16 Jan 98, while performing a routine through-flight inspection on F-117A aircraft 837, SrA LaPorte discovered the nose gear torque link was loose. Detachment 1, 79th Test Evaluation Group uses this aircraft for F-117A Follow-on Operational Test and Evaluation. Amn LaPorte continued to troubleshoot the problem and found the strut bushings were worn, the lower strut was backing out, and the nose wheel steering dampener was excessively loose. He brought this discrepancy to the attention of his Senior Maintenance Officer (SMO), the Detachment Commander (Det CC), and the aircraft contractor. Despite the contractor clearing the gear for one more sortie, Amn LaPorte stood by his original finding that the aircraft was not safe to fly. In consultation with his shift supervisor, SMO, and the Det CC, the decision was made to cancel the next sortie even though it was an important classified test mission. Shortly thereafter the depot level technical expert independently overruled the initial one-time flight recommendation. The depot confirmed possible catastrophic results from flying the aircraft. Airman LaPorte immediately ordered a new strut and assisted as Aircraft Repair replaced the defective nose strut, quickly returning the aircraft to fully mission capable status. Further investigation of the steering unit revealed broken teeth on the nose wheel steering dampener potentiometer gear. This condition could have caused the nose wheel steering to fail to a "hard-over" position which on takeoff or landing roll may have resulted in loss of control of the aircraft. Amn LaPorte's sharp eye spotted and corrected this critical discrepancy. His skill and attention to detail averted the potential loss of an F-117A Stealth fighter and possibly saved a pilot's life.

F-117A #837

On April 21, 1999 The Dragon aircraft, #86-0837 suffered extensive damage in an unspecified landing accident. The aircraft belonged to the Detachment 1, 79th Test and Evaluation Group and therefore wore a tailcode of "OT". The accident was reported as a Class A mishap. According to some sources, the damage was quickly repaired and the Dragon was flying again as of October 1999.

#843 Fire

It is known that the final aircraft delivered, #843 caught fire on the ramp (But the date is not known). It reportedly took 15 minutes for the fire department to arrive. This could be the Night Vision Goggle Test incident mentioned above.

410th/United Jetliner "Near Miss"

On September 7, 2000, United Flight 174 departed from Los Angeles International Airport at 8:38 a.m. (11:38 a.m. ET) and was cleared to climb to an altitude of 15,000 feet by air traffic control, said airline spokesman Matt Triaca.

At 8:43 AM the Boeing 757's collision avoidance system,T-CAS, detected an approaching aircraft during the climb, and advised the crew to stop its ascent. The United pilots quickly leveled off to 10,800 feet. The United pilots saw F-117A passed overhead the United Jet. The jets were separated by 500 feet vertically and six-tenths of a mile horizontally according to the United pilot.

No injuries were reported and the flight, with 173 passengers and a crew of seven aboard, arrived in Boston at 4:36 p.m., two minutes behind schedule, according to the United Internet Web page. A United spokesman said passengers might not have noticed anything was wrong.

According to the Aviation Safety Alliance, the potential for a collision exists when aircraft come within 500 feet of each other. Less than 100 feet of aircraft separation would be considered critical.

The F-117A was being flown on a Functional Test Flight(FCF) prior to being re-delivered to the operational squadrons at Holloman AFB after modifications and upgrades at Site 7, Plant 42. The ensuing investigation found that the 410th TS F-117A pilot was operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) which require a minimum of 500 feet seperation. The F-117A was not "stealthed up" and had received clerance to be in that airspace. The airspace over the Palmdale Desert area east of Los Angeles near Edwards AFB was recently opened to comercial traffic before this "mishap". In the end, it was found that the F-117A was operating within the guidlines set by VFR operations, and the entire incident was a "non event".

F-117A Accidents (As of Nov. 16, 2002 from USAF Safety Center)

YEAR	CLASS A #	CLASS A RATE	CLASS B #	CLASS B RATE	DESTROYED #	DESTROYED RATE	FATAL PILOT	FATAL TOTAL	FY HOURS	CUM HOURS
FY79-90	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
FY91	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0	17,875	17,875
FY92	1	8.71	0	0.00	1	8.71	0	0	11,481	29,356
FY93	0	0.00	2	15.95	0	0.00	0	0	12,538	41,894
FY94	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0	12,136	54,030
FY95	2	15.62	0	0.00	1	7.81	1	1	12,904	66,834
FY96	0	0.00	1	7.59	0	0.00	0	0	13,171	80,005
FY97	3	23.69	0	0.00	1	7.90	0	0	12,661	92,666
FY98	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0	12,470	105,136
FY99	1	7.35	1	7.35	0	0.00	0	0	13,599	118,735
FY00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0	13,585	132,320
FY01	0	0.00	1	7.25	0	0.00	0	0	13,801	146,121
FY02	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0	13,012	159,133
LIFETIME	7	4.40	5	3.14	3	1.89	1	1	159,133
5 YR AVG	0.2	1.50	.4	3.01	0.0	0.00	0.0	0.0	13,293.4
10 YR AVG	0.6	4.62	0.5	3.85	0.2	1.54	0.1	0.1	12,977.7

NOTE:

The above numbers only reflect statistics after the ACC was formed from the TAC and SAC in June 1992. Before that, the F-117A was assigned to TAC. The safety numbers from 1981 to June 1992 have not been published.

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