USAF launches search for missing F-22 Raptor

[Jigs]

I hope the pilot is ok.

 

[Safriz]

I hope they find the pilot alive..must be very tormenting for the family.

 

[Safriz]

The seat being big and bulky can house a high power battery needed for a satellite beacon..It is assumed that the pilot must be near the seat..But i dont know ig the pilot has any satellite beacon on him or not..They do have flares to attract search team's attention..The last time i carried an EPIRB,it was a foot long and weighed half a kilo..But now i see that they have become lighter and shorter and cheaper.

 

[Chogy]

I know you can't put a price on a pilot's life but what is the cost to train an elite pilot (including cost of training dropouts)?

It's probably around the 4-5 million mark isn't it?

Probably pretty close to the mark. It takes at least 2.5 years to go from the street to mission-ready in anything modern. There are entire programs and facilities set up just for training, including the pay and benefits of dedicated instructors. Very expensive, way beyond simply the fuel an individual will burn in those learning years.

 

[Awesome]

F-22 Wreckage Found in Alaska, Pilot Still Missing​

Air Force rescue personnel have found the wreckage of what they believe to be the F-22 Raptor that went missing on Nov. 16 from Elmendorf Air Force base in Alaska, according to a statement put out by the service tonight.
Search and rescue crews have found the apparent wreckage of an F-22 Raptor Nov. 17 that was assigned to the 3rd Wing here.
However, the pilot is still missing.
“We’re still doing an active search for the pilot,” the AP quoted Col. Jack McMullen, commander of the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf, as saying. “Perhaps he ejected.”
Despite the extreme Alaskan weather, the pilot may have a chance at survival, McMullen told the AP.
“They have survival gear,” McMullen said. “He’s Arctic trained to survive in that environment. He’s got the gear on. He’s got stuff in his survival kit, so that he could hunker himself down and fight the extreme cold.”
McMullen provided more details on the incident in an Air Force press release:
“Last night a two-ship (flight) of F-22s, Rocky One and Rocky Three, were finished with training … about 100 miles north of here,” Colonel McMullen said.
Everything was normal until about 7:40 p.m., he said, when Rocky Three fell off the radar scope and the pilot lost communications.
“The other pilot (Rocky One) went to a tanker, got gas and then continued to look for the mishap pilot,” Colonel McMullen said. “He could not find him. At that time, the Alaska Air National Guard scrambled a C-130 and rescue helicopters. They searched the entire night.”
About 10:15 a.m., an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter found a site that fits the data and the description of where rescuers thought the mishap probably occurred, Colonel McMullen said.
“They found the crash site,” he said. “They were unable to land at the crash site and take a closer look. We scrambled another helicopter that should be in the area in the next few moments.”
Steve Trimble over at Flight Global notes that this is the second F-22 loss in little over a year, and third overall, bringing the total number of jets that will ultimately be fielded to 185, unless more are built.
The F-22 costs $143 million apiece according to the Air Force (although its critics claim the real cost is far higher) and before this latest presumed crash, the Raptor had a Class A mishap rate of six to seven per 100,000 flight hours, according to the folks at Strategy Page.
A Class A mishap is any incident involving an aircraft where over $1 million worth of damage occurs.
It should be noted that reaching this threshhold is fairly easy with the Raptor given its low-observable coatings and other high priced features. In fact, a “minor” collision last year between an F-22 and a Canadian CF-18 parked on the ramp at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida was declared a Class A mishap.
Hoping they find the pilot alright.


Read more: http://defensetech.org/2010/11/17/f-22-wreckage-found-in-alaska-pilot-still-missing/#ixzz15dmzsOnx
Defense.org

Still news reports are conflicting that its not been found...

F-22 Raptor Jet Missing Over Alaska | Golf Talk

Efforts to search for the missing U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and its pilot remained futile. Military officials said the stealth fighter jet was on a flight over Alaska, particularly about 90 miles northeast of the Elmendorf Air Force Base late Tuesday when it “dropped off the radar”.

There was no mayday or any other communication from the pilot that would have indicated the plane was in trouble, the officials told NBC News. There have been no distress calls from the pilot since the plane went missing.

At least one C-130 and several U.S. military helicopters went looking for the missing plane but turned up empty handed.

Base spokeswoman Corinna Jones said the plane, which was on a training mission, had no other passenger except the pilot. She said the jet lost contact with air traffic control at around 7:40 p.m. Alaska time.

The Weather Channel reported fair weather conditions in nearby Anchorage at the time the jet lost contact with the traffic control


The twin-engine F-22 Raptor, which is far more stealthy and maneuverable than the earlier jets, arrived at Elmendorf in 2007. While the jet’s top speed has been kept confidential, it can cruise at over one and a half times the speed of sound even without the use of its afterburner.

Jones said the aircraft was assigned to Elmendorf’s 3rd Wing but she refused to identify its pilot. It can be recalled that a C-17 cargo plane which was assigned to the same Wing crashed earlier this year, during a training demonstration held just before the popular air show.

The July crash resulted to the death of four airmen. Another plane crash in the State’s southwestern part happened the next month, and killed former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens and four others.

Just last year, an F-22 crashed near the California Edwards Air Force Base, which resulted to the death of its pilot.

The F-22, which was built by Lockheed Martin Corporation, stopped production last year after Congress disapproved the $1.75 billion budget that would have been used to purchase seven F-22s to the fleet of the Air Force.

It'll be a major coup by the Russians if they managed to sneak one through Alaska, not good from the Pakistani/Chinese perspective given that Russian tech has a good chance to make it to the Indians.

 

[Rank]

It might have been stolen by some country for its tech...............

i am 101% sure Taliban stolen F22.... go America go invade Afghanistan again lol!

Taliban will make 7th generation fighter before... strike on them!

 

[jimmyH]

Soldiers sacrifice so much for our country, for the price of freedom. They fight for their country while risking their lives and not knowing if they'd still be able to go home to their families. The military has started looking for a lost aircraft. The F-22 fighter jet went lost recently. Air traffic control dropped all contact with the plane Tues night. The solitary pilot was on a "training mission". Before losing connection with air traffic control, the plane didn't transmit any emergency message.

 

[Safriz]

Soldiers sacrifice so much for our country, for the price of freedom. They fight for their country while risking their lives and not knowing if they'd still be able to go home to their families. The military has started looking for a lost aircraft. The F-22 fighter jet went lost recently. Air traffic control dropped all contact with the plane Tues night. The solitary pilot was on a "training mission". Before losing connection with air traffic control, the plane didn't transmit any emergency message.

The tech involved in F-22 is all classified..Makes me wonder if F-22 has emergency transmission system? EPIRB? SART? or any other emergency communication and locating system for pilots?

 

[unicorn]

US Air Force confirms F-22 pilot died in crash

The US Air Force has confirmed that the pilot of a Lockheed Martin F-22 which crashed on 16 November died in the accident. Capt Jeffrey Haney had been flying the aircraft when air traffic control lost contact following a night-time training sortie with another Raptor.
"Based on evidence recovered from the crash site, and after two days of extensive aerial and ground search efforts, we know that Capt Haney did not eject from the aircraft prior to impact," Col Jack McMullen, 3rd Wing commander at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson confirmed on 20 November.
Part of the aircraft's ejection seat and several life-support items worn by the pilot were found at the crash site: a crater located in a remote area roughly 87nm (160km) north of Anchorage, Alaska.

"Recovery operations are currently under way and are expected to last several weeks," the USAF says. A safety investigation board will be convened to identify the cause of the accident, it adds.
This was the first crash to have involved an active duty F-22 since the type's entry into frontline squadron service.
The USAF says Capt Haney was commissioned in August 2003 and had been stationed at Elmendorf-Richardson AFB since June 2006.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

a real tragedy. RIP to the pilot.

 

[Vajra_Yuddh]

US Air Force confirms F-22 pilot died in crash

The US Air Force has confirmed that the pilot of a Lockheed Martin F-22 which crashed on 16 November died in the accident. Capt Jeffrey Haney had been flying the aircraft when air traffic control lost contact following a night-time training sortie with another Raptor.
"Based on evidence recovered from the crash site, and after two days of extensive aerial and ground search efforts, we know that Capt Haney did not eject from the aircraft prior to impact," Col Jack McMullen, 3rd Wing commander at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson confirmed on 20 November.
Part of the aircraft's ejection seat and several life-support items worn by the pilot were found at the crash site: a crater located in a remote area roughly 87nm (160km) north of Anchorage, Alaska.

"Recovery operations are currently under way and are expected to last several weeks," the USAF says. A safety investigation board will be convened to identify the cause of the accident, it adds.
This was the first crash to have involved an active duty F-22 since the type's entry into frontline squadron service.
The USAF says Capt Haney was commissioned in August 2003 and had been stationed at Elmendorf-Richardson AFB since June 2006.

Holy Canoly! that site looks like a site of nuclear blast! I really feel sorry for the pilot. May his family be given strength to bear his loss.

 

[Rafi]

Rip brave pilot - the place for valiant warriors in Valhalla

 

[no_name]

RIP to pilot. It could be that he blackout during the training.