Raptor down in Alaska

A USAF F-22A Raptor based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage in Alaska crashed whilst on a training mission late on November 16.

The aircraft, from the 3rd Fighter Wing and flying as ‘Rocky Three’, was preparing to return to base with another F-22 when contact was lost at 7.40pm local time. A search was conducted that evening and early the following morning, and wreckage was located about 170km north of the base.

It is not known if the pilot was able to bail out of the aircraft as rescue crews were not able to immediately access the crash site due to terrain, and the name of the pilot or the squadron he flies with has not been released.

This is the third USAF F-22 to crash; the first was at Nellis AFB in 2005 in which the pilot survived, and the second last year at Edwards AFB with the loss of its Lockheed Martin test pilot.

UPDATE: USAF officials confirmed on November 19 that they had found conclusive evidence that the pilot of the F-22 which crashed north of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on November 16 did not survive the crash.