Air Force Releases Explanation for April's F-22 Belly Flop Accident
The pilot was provided with incorrect data for takeoff.
By Kyle Mizokami
Nov 19, 2018
Back in a April, one of the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptors belly-flopped right after takeoff and skidded down more than a mile of runway. Now the service has revealed what went wrong: the pilots were given the wrong takeoff airspeed.
On April 13 of this year, an F-22 fighter jet took off from Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada for a TOP GUN exercise. The Raptor pilot, part of the 90th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, took off at 120 knots. According to Air Force Times, the F-22 took off going 23 knots slower than the recommended speed—enough to lift the jet off the runway, but not to keep it in the air.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a25226189/f-22-belly-top-takeoff-accident/
