The Gruesome F-117 Incident

The Wing Fell Off!

This Air Force F-117A Nighthawk crashed during a fly-by demonstration for an airshow at Martin State Airport, 12 miles northeast of Baltimore. The pilot managed to safely eject but suffered minor injuries.

On the ground, four people were injured, and 10 families were displaced. The crash resulted in extensive damage to homes and vehicles.

As the aircraft completed its third pass on an airshow flyover, and as the pilot initiated his climb out for departure, he felt the plane shudder, and then the left wing broke off.

Investigations of the accidents revealed that the cause was a structural failure of a support assembly in the left wing because of four missing fasteners of the 39 in the assembly.