Two Active duty U.S. Air Force pilots ejected from a Qatri F-15QA aircraft at MidAmerica airport near St. Louis after the jet departed the runway on May 18, the service said. Both pilots received minor injuries.
A Boeing F-15 was involved in a ground ejection incident at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport around 07.30AM LT on May 18, 2021. According to the reports, both pilots successfully ejected: one of them refused treatment and the other was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, KMOV reported.
The cause of the accident is under investigation, but the Air Force has not grounded its own two F-15EX jets, which are based on the F-15QA, nor has it issued a safety grounding on the F-15QA or similar aircraft.
The jet had recently been accepted by the Air Force and was to be transferred to Qatar under the Foreign Military Sales program.
Initial reports indicated only one crewmember ejected from the aircraft.
Footage broadcast by a local news channel shows what looks like a pretty intact airframe (without the canopy, jettisoned for the ejection) on the grass next to the tarmac.
Available photos and video footage show the aircraft, which is missing its canopy, sitting on a patch of grass at MidAmerica that appears to be between a taxiway and a runway, with its landing gear down.
Boeing, which manufactures the F-15 series of fighter jets, among other aircraft, uses this airport, which sits adjacent to Scott Air Force Base, to support test and training activities.
