UPDATE: Unfortunately it looks as if the pilot of the doomed F-22, a Lockheed Martin tester named David Cooley, did not survive the crash. Cooley is a 29 year Air Force veteran and joined LockMart in 2003 as a test pilot.
Also, DT commenter Drake wonders if the accident might have had something to do with weapons bay testing that Flight International reported nearly caused some incidents in the past.
Colin reports at DoD Buzz that the Air Force congressional liaison office has sent out notices to key lawmakers they the service will update them as details emerge. The USAF is so terrified of bad publicity around the aircraft during the run up to budget wrangling that they’ll stumble over themselves to paint a pretty picture. We don’t, of course, know what caused the crash, but any bad publicity or delay in production will hurt the Air Force and F-22 backers on the Hill.
My question is, two crashes in five years after twenty years of testing and development…why aren’t the Osprey analogies coming out?..
All debates aside, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and colleagues of the downed pilot. It’s a terrible tragedy for all.
The Air Force is reporting that an F-22 Raptor has crashed near Edwards AFB in California today. The pilot was on a training mission near Edwards AFB, Calif., and crashed about 35 miles north of the base at 10am Pacific time. The Air Force is saying the condition of the pilot is unknown, which is strange given the proximity of rescue units, other aircraft in the area and communications capabilities. Another F-22 crashed in training in the Nevada desert in 2004. That pilot survived after ejecting from the stricken jet. We’ll keep you up to date as this develops and welcome any first hand info from readers…
– Christian
It’s too long since the crash. I am at EAFB and would have heard the SAR choppers return. Don’t feel too positive about the pilot. They like to return them to medical for a thorough check and then a “thorough” debrief. This is taking way too long I am afraid.
For Fighter Pilots, Same Swagger, Different Jets
by JJ Sutherland
Lt. Col. Charles “Corky” Corcoran, a squadron commander in Alaska.
“In the F-15, it was easier to separate the men from the boys,” Corcoran says. “It was easier to tell who was good and who wasn’t, because the airplane couldn’t hide your mistakes. We have built something that makes them good.“
I couldn’t help not posting this when I heard about the crash. I guess now we need 21 more raptors instead of 20.
not again…Damn It Tony Stark!
A Raptor down? Ahhh crap.
Pilot is reported dead according to: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/03/raptor-down-in.html
But there is as yet no other source to corroborate this info. Extract below:
“Edwards Air Force Base has announced that the Lockheed Martin contractor pilot of the F-22 that crashed was transported to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. At this time there is no information on whether he attempted to eject.”
Pilot David Cooley didn’t make it. Prayers to the family of this 21 year veteran of the USAF.
Damn…I was under the impression he had made it-respects.
This incident may end up being a politcal firestorm.
As one clear sign of the service
Hopefully people are not making the Osprey refrence cause they looked like idiots for bashing the Osprey that way the first time. Last thing they want to do now is remind people how they bashed an aircraft that it turns out we needed and wanted and so far is working pretty well.
I think the Osprey comparison is valid, and both aircraft may be in big trouble in the current economic climate — we can’t afford expensive failures anymore.
Hopefully nobody else will be killed in the process.
If the plane went down during some kind of experimental test flight, then it may not count towards the validity of the rest of the fleet. If I tinker with the shocks on my truck and flip it, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with the whole F-150 line. We’ll all have to wait and see what the investigation tells.
Sorry to hear about the pilot…tragic…
The question is how will the USAF handle this? They are so terrified of any bad press about the F-22.…I sure hope they don’t try to pin this on the pilot…
If I recall correctly that nearly every aircraft has had at least one crash during preliminary flight tests and that streets at Edwards AFB are named after test pilots who died testing their new aircraft.
We’ve become too complacent and all too ready to want the person responsible for this to pay. Sadly this pilot lost his life in an effort to keep others alive. I hope the flight recorder/telemetry gives some good information as to the cause of the crash.
I am assuming the ejection system is hard wired and not digital.
Like the time the digitally controlled canopy would not open and they had to cut the pilot out.
If I remember correctly the statement was “there is 50,000 lines of code, we are not sure what happened”.
Who did they get to write the program, Microsoft?
Do not underestimate the extreme difficulty of writing the incredibly complex software for these incredibly complex machines. I believe it is, in fact, impossible to prove 100% that the software is correct (as described by the halting problem describing by Turing in 1936.)
Have you read about development of the Space Shuttle software? Its a good overview of the extreme effort and cost required to produce reliable computer programs. See:
http://www.fastcompany.com/node/28121/print
XFactor,
I think you missed my irony.
Some things should not be digitally controlled.
Or if they are, there should be redundant electrical and mechanical systems to override the digital control.
I am assuming the ejection system was manual control.
My comment was to point out despite all the arguments over how many to buy and the Air Forces burning desire to have more, they may not be that great of a design.
Only time will tell.….
The Raptor force of 187 is not sufficient. If this plane is all its cracked up to be, it should b built in greater numbers. The JSF will be sold to our allies, so more of them will be built. We may regret building only 187.