F-22 Raptor damaged during training flight

June 8, 2012 by Dave Majumdar – FG

Washington DC - A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor from Tyndall AFB, Florida, was damaged last Thursday evening during a training flight, the US Air Force confirms.

While the pilot is safe, the aircraft suffered more than $2 million in damage-which classifies the incident as a Class A mishap. The full extent and cost of the damage has yet to be determined, but the service expects that the aircraft will be repaired.

The aircraft was being flown by a student pilot transitioning to the Raptor from another aircraft type at the time of the accident. It was the pilot's second sortie in the jet after completing academic and simulator work.

The USAF is not able to offer any additional details due to an on-going investigation into the incident, but the mishap does not appear to be oxygen-related.

"There is no indication at this time that the life support system was related to the incident," the USAF says. "However, the investigation is on-going."

The USAF is not saying which tail number was involved in the incident. But the 43rd Fighter Squadron, which is the USAF's Raptor formal training unit, has 29 early production aircraft assigned to it.