LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- A bird strike caused an F-15E Strike Eagles engine to fail, forcing the crew to eject during a training mission May 6, 2004, near Callaway, Va., according to Air Force investigators.
The mishap crew comprised of a pilot and weapons system officer ejected safely and was uninjured.
The $42 million aircraft, assigned to the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., crashed in a field and was destroyed upon impact.
According to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released today, investigators determined the cause of the mishap was ingestion of a large black vulture that led to a catastrophic failure of the aircrafts right engine and started a fire.
Contributing factors to the accident included damage to multiple control and mechanical systems rendering the aircraft uncontrollable, and the flight leaders task misprioritization when prior to the mishap he directed the mishap aircrafts crew to join his aircraft in formation at low level, instead of initiating a climb to avoid a known bird-strike hazard area.
For more information, contact the ACC Public Affairs office at (757) 764-5007 or e-mail acc.pam@langley.af.mil.