Oops! F-22 fighter jet scrapes tail on runway

Gestart door jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter), 09/12/2012 | 15:47 uur

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Oops! F-22 fighter jet scrapes tail on runway during Pearl Harbor anniversary causing $1.8million damage

By Associated Press Reporter

PUBLISHED:05:00 GMT, 8 December 2012An F-22 fighter jet used in a flyover during a remembrance ceremony at Pearl Harbor scraped its tail on a runway as it landed, causing $1.8 million in damage.

A Hawaii National Guard spokesman says nobody was hurt in the incident Friday morning on the 71st anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Lt. Col. Charles Anthony says the jet was coming back to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a training exercise after taking part in the ceremony. He says the 'mishap' happened roughly 90 minutes after the flyover.

In jet terms, the damage to the F-22's horizontal stabilizers may be little more than a pricey fender-bender.

Anthony says it costs roughly $147 million to make one F-22 fighter.

The nation's F-22 fighter jets were grounded for four months last year after pilots complained of experiencing a lack of oxygen that can cause dizziness and blackouts.

An Air Force advisory panel studied the problem for seven months but couldn't identify the cause. The panel supported a plan to keep the aircraft flying with pilots using special sensors, filters and other safety precautions.

In May, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered that F-22 flights remain 'within proximity of potential landing locations' so that pilots can land quickly in the event they experience an oxygen-deficit problem.

The F-22, made by Lockheed Martin Corp., is the Air Force's most-prized stealth fighter. It was built to evade radar and is capable of flying at faster-than-sound speeds without using afterburners.

Five other bases are home to F-22s: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; and Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2245332/F-22-fighter-jet-scrapes-tail-runway-Pearl-Harbor-anniversary.html#ixzz2EZAKEzCn