{"id":39069,"date":"2019-04-24T22:35:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T22:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/24\/pilot-error-caused-f-15c-crash-near-japan-investigation-found\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:10:08","slug":"pilot-error-caused-f-15c-crash-near-japan-investigation-found","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/04\/24\/pilot-error-caused-f-15c-crash-near-japan-investigation-found\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilot error caused F-15C crash near Japan, investigation found"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An F-15C from Kadena Air Base<\/a> in Japan crashed into the ocean last June<\/a> due to pilot error, according to an accident investigation board report released Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report, released by Pacific Air Forces, found that the pilot made a mistake during a June 11, 2018, training sortie<\/a> with an F-22 to practice basic fighter maneuvers. The F-15 was from the 44th Fighter Squadron, 18th Wing, at Kadena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The F-15 pilot, who was the lead, was performing a defensive maneuver and climbed at 65 degrees, the report said. He then felt the fighter\u2019s nose was not tracking the way he wanted it to, so significantly dropped the fighter\u2019s nose to 65 degrees down and hard to the right, the report said. This resulted in a dramatic change in G-forces, from 1.2 Gs to -0.3 Gs, which caused the F-15 to go into \u201ca negative G departure from controlled flight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fighter then transitioned to an inverted, negative-G spin and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, about 70 miles south of Kadena Air Base, at about 6:17 a.m., the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pilot ejected from the fighter at 1,100 feet above ground level and sustained serious injuries because of his extremely low ejection altitude, the report said. He was rescued by rescue forces from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force from Naha International Airport, and taken to a military hospital at Camp Foster, Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The F-15 broke apart on impact and was completely destroyed, resulting in a loss of nearly $42.4 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\t