Investigators were unable to pinpoint the cause of an F-15C crash on a sortie over the Nevada Test and Training Range last October, announced Air Combat Command. “Given the limited evidence available, the [accident investigation board] president was unable to determine a mishap cause by clear and convincing evidence,” states the investigators’ report. Assigned to Nellis, AFB, Nev., the F-15 was on a single-ship test sortie on Oct. 24, 2011. Recovering from a high-G evasive breaking maneuver, the aircraft departed controlled flight and entered a flat spin, according to the AIB report’s findings. When engines and flight control inputs failed to recover the aircraft, the pilot lowered the undercarriage in accordance with procedures, regaining control at approximately 4,000 feet in altitude. Attempting to regain flight speed, the pilot applied full power in “an aggressive recovery,” states the report. The F-15 stalled again, forcing the pilot’s low-altitude ejection near 1,400 feet. He was not seriously injured. The Eagle was destroyed upon impact on unoccupied federal land 85 miles northwest of Nellis, a loss estimated at $32 million. (AIB report; caution, large-sized file.)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.