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LOTS more to read at28 Mar 2018
A portion of the Air National Guard's F-15 Eagle fleet at Kingsley Field, Oregon,
has been grounded over significant maintenance issues affecting the aircraft's structure,
Military.com has learned.
Col. Jeff Smith, commander of the 173rd Fighter Wing, last week grounded the fleet of 30 aircraft over pilot safety concerns.
"Due to a possible maintenance issue,
out of an abundance of caution and concern for air crew safety,
we have decided to stand down our flying
while we take a closer look and determine the path forward," said Maj. Nikki Jackson, spokeswoman for the 173rd.
Jackson said the concerns were over
"structural issues that we want to take a closer look at before we clear our aircraft to fly."
The 173rd anticipates F-15 flight operations to resume tomorrow, Jackson said.
It remains unclear if the issue pertains only to F-15s at Kingsley thus far, or if it will lead to a service-wide inspection of all of the 1980s-era aircraft.
The temporary grounding is not expected to affect training or deployment schedules for the 173rd, Jackson said.
A team from the F-15 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program is on site and looking into the issue, to determine the path forward," she said.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/201 ... -base.html