The pilot of a fighter jet operated by a military contractor that crashed outside Phoenix last month reported a fuel problem and then a failure of the jet’s engine before he ejected and the plane went down in the open desert, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NTSB report says the pilot was flying with another contractor jet operating out of Luke as aggressors, planes that simulate attacks on competing fighters. The two supersonic Mirage fighters split up to work in a military operations area northwest of Phoenix, and near the end of the activity, the pilot reported there was a discrepancy in two cockpit fuel indicators.
The pilot left the training area when he reached minimum fuel levels and was flying back toward Luke when he said he lost fuel pressure and the engine quit, according to the NTSB report. The pilot told investigators that he tried to restart the jet’s engine but that effort failed. When he determined he was too far away from Luke to get the plane safely on the runway he steered the jet out into an open desert area and ejected.
about 16 miles northwest of the base. The wreckage has been recovered and will be examined by investigators who are trying to determine the cause of the crash.
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