BREAKING: F-22 Crashes Near Eglin Air Force Base. Pilot Ejected Safely.

File photo of Eglin AFB F-22 (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jensen Stidham)

The aircraft reportedly crashed during a training mission.

An F-22 assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron, part of the 325th Fighter Wing, based at Eglin AFB, crashed at approximately 9:15AM LT on May 15, 2020. The location of the accident was 12 miles northeast of Eglin AFB main base on the test and training range.

“The pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and has been transported to the 96th Medical Group hospital on Eglin for evaluation and observation. He is currently in stable condition. The name of the pilot has not been released,” an official statement says.

According to the first reports the aircraft was involved in an America Strong flyover. However, the official statement released by Eglin AFB just says that the Raptor was flying a “training mission”.

A flyover taking place in the area was the Tyndall AFB’s one:

The plan for May 15 flyover. (Image credit: Tyndall AFB).

The flyover was slated to involve two T-38 Talons, one F-22 Raptor and one F-35 Lightning that would have to fly over the Panama City Beach Police Department at approximately 9:05am and then continue through Panama City, Mexico Beach, and Gulf County. According to the local media outlets, the aircraft crashed after completing the flyover but it looks like the incident is separate from the America Strong event (that was cancelled).

We will update the story as more details emerge.



About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.