An F-22 Raptor attempting takeoff at Naval Air Station Fallon may have lost an engine and ended up touching down with the gear up last week. The aircraft slid and came to rest on the runway. The jet was from the 3rd Air Force Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. After the incident, the aircraft appeared to be intact, but damaged, and there were no reported injuries.
According to the Aviationist.com, unofficial sources said, “The slide happened on takeoff. It appears to have been a left engine flameout when the pilot throttled up to take off. By the time he realized the engine was dead, he had already been airborne for a few seconds and raised the gear. The jet bounced for around 1500 feet, and then slid for about 5000 feet. They got it off the ground and on its landing gear last night, so the runway is clear.”
However, the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson responded that, “This should be treated as a rumor at this time, but in the images, the F-22’s thrust-vectoring nozzles are in asymmetric positions. The right engine looks as if it was shut down normally, while the left is still fully deflected downward.” The F-22 may have been at NAS Fallon “to provide an adversary training resource to aircraft on exercise at the base.” Naval Air Station Fallon is the home to the U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program also known as Top Gun school.
See the Aviationist.com piece here.
