This footage shows a terrifying accident from May of 1983.
It is an Israeli F-15D flying above the Negev desert with only one wing. The aircraft’s pilot,
Ziv Nedivi, had just recovered the jet from a tight spiral after colliding with an A-4
Skyhawk and was being ordered to eject. With a runway almost in sight only 10-miles away,
however, Nedivi lit his afterburners and headed to attempt a most unconventional landing…
The Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the incident was a McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle
and a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, both owned by the Israeli Air Force.
Ironically, the F-15 Eagle was created, designed, and assembled in the United States.
A sophisticated jet, its a twin-engine tactical fighter
plane designed to fly in all weather conditions.
In the late 1960s, the United States Air Force reviewed several proposals for a fighter dedicated
strictly to air superiority. Winning out, the F-15 wasn't initially conceived as an air-superiority
aircraft. In fact, the design included more—a secondary capability for ground-attack.
Nevertheless, most operators ignored secondary abilities.
Its maiden flight commenced in July 1972, entering service
fully in 1976. It's considered one of the most successful fighter planes of the modern era.
Since its introduction, models have been exported to American allies Israel and Japan
and sold to Saudi Arabia. To date, the F-15 has achieved more than 100 victories collectively
and without a single loss of life. Most successes are credited to the Israeli Air Force, however.
The Eagle was first imagined during the early days of the Vietnam War when the
U.S. Air Force and Navy competed to discover the next best tactical
aircraft. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara pushed both branches to use as many standard
planes as possible, despite lower performance by ordinary aircraft.
Notwithstanding, McNamara allowed the Air Force and Navy to pursue a new low-price
tactical fighter in January 1965. The aircraft needed to play short-range roles,
including close air support, for it to replace some of the light bombers in
service. The F-100 Super Sabre, then widely used, could fulfill this role
and reducing expenditures. This was of the utmost importance. These were looked
at as a viable option considering the reticence to invest in new developments.
Meanwhile, the Navy gravitated towards the A-4 Skyhawk design as well as the LTV A-7 Corsair
II. The planes built as pure attack aircraft. The Air Force instead gravitated to Northrop's F-5
fighter, which seemed more dynamic. In the end, all three planes saw full production.
The Air Force quickly adopted the F-15. Thanks to its weight to wing area ratio,
the F-15 was highly maneuverable. Thanks to its high thrust to weight ratio,
the Eagle could conduct tight turns without compromising airspeed.
It climbed to 30,000 feet in just under 60 seconds. At some speeds, the aircraft could
accelerate while traveling vertically. The dynamic thrust output of its engines was even higher than
its combat weight and drag, which allowed the aircraft to accelerate without compromising speed.
A key feature of the F-15 Eagle is a multimission avionics system with a
head-up display facilitating flight use. Other features include an inertial guidance system,
advanced flight instruments, radar, high-frequency communications, a tactical air navigation system,
and several instrument landing system receivers. Amazingly, the plane also conducts electronic
warfare to identify friends or foes and implements its own electronic countermeasures.
In service, the F-15 totaled a record-breaking 104 kills with no losses as of February 2008.
Over half of these were achieved by Israeli Air Force pilots.
Furthermore, air superiority models A, B, C, and D have never fallen into the enemy's hand.
Before the accident, the aircraft took down four enemy planes during the 1982 Lebanon War.
On its second run, it took down a MiG-23 in Syria on November 19, 1985.
The plane flown during the practice over the Negev was an F-15D,
a two-seat training version, of which 92 were built between 1979 and 1985.
The other plane involved was a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, a single-seater subsonic light
attack plane. Its delta-wing and use of one turbojet engine made it notably lightweight,
with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds. It can fly up to 670 miles per hour.
The Incident
The accident took place on May 1, 1983. The Israeli Air Force was carrying out a divergent
air combat training session over the Negev region. An F-15D crashed into an A-4 Skyhawk
after both planes approached each other too closely, and their undersides collided.
The Skyhawk plane caught on fire and turned into a flaming ball. The pilot immediately ejected.
He was able to parachute to land safely.
Zivi didn't even realize what had gone wrong at first. He simply felt a big push
and saw the fireball caused by the exploding Skyhawk. He heard
the radio communication informing the pilot had successfully ejected.
The F-15 Eagle began rolling uncontrollably. Its right-wing dislocated about 2 feet from its root.
Still, both crewmembers aboard the plane were oblivious. The leaking fuel streamed out of
the wing, vaporizing at the wing attachment, which covered their view of the missing wing.
Only after descending into a tight spiral did the pilots notice the missing a key component.
Ziv Nedivi gained control of the aircraft without realizing the full extent of the damage.
He switched afterburners on, which at least halted the spin. The two crew members were ordered
to eject but opted instead to save the plane by landing it at the nearest airfield, 10 miles away.
Due to the lift from the fuselage, stabilators, and left-wing, the jet remained stable. Nedivi
diverted to Ramon Airbase. Suddenly, as he circled to land, the tailhook lowered and descended.
The F-15 landed at 260 knots, twice the average speed to maintain lift during a standard landing.
The tailhook was consequently destroyed. With high precision and a bit of luck,
Nedivi was able to stop the plane only 20 feet from the airfield's barrier.
About his decision to land, Nedivi later asserted
that he [QUOTE] "probably would have ejected if I knew what had happened."
In fact, the pilots only learned of the severed wing after inspecting the aircraft upon landing.
A Remarkable Repair
The F-15 Eagle with the missing wing, labeled as the 106 Squadron's Marika Schakim,
Hebrew for Sky Blazer, was sent to Tel Nof. At the Israeli Air Force maintenance unit,
it underwent two months of repairs. Showing the F-15’s extreme strength and reliability,
the jet was soon restored entirely. It returned to normal service.