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Star-Advertiser / Sept. 19
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A Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 Raptor sustained $1.8 million in damage in a landing accident Friday morning at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, officials said.
The pilot was uninjured.
The stealth jet’s winglike horizontal stabilizers at the back of the plane were damaged when they scraped the runway, the Hawaii National Guard said.
The Raptor had taken part in a four-plane "missing man" flyover observance of the 71st anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack at Pearl Harbor and was returning from subsequent flight training when the mishap occurred, an official said.
Asked whether the aircraft landed at the wrong angle, Hawaii National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Chuck Anthony said, "I really can’t say for sure. I just know that the back of the aircraft scraped the runway and damaged the stabilizers beyond repair, so they will have to be replaced."
The cause of the mishap is under investigation, a National Guard news release said.
The stealthy F-22 is the most expensive fighter ever built at an estimated $79 billion for 187 aircraft, or around $420 million per plane.
The 199th Fighter Squadron of the Hawaii Air National Guard and active-duty Air Force 19th Fighter Squadron fly and maintain 18 Raptors in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Raptors achieved initial operating capability status last month, meaning some of the aircraft can be deployed in support of theater operations.
