Message posted by Peter Merlin on September 09, 2005 at 20:52:53 PST:

ATC controllers never noticed that the F-117A was different from an A-7 because they only saw it on radar. The aircraft was equipped with radar reflectors to give it a radar cross-section comparable to the A-7. The reflectors are bolted onto the fuselage for use during flights where low-observable ("stealth") characteristics are not needed.

Maj. Ross Mulhare's F-117A crashed on 11 July 1986. Civilian firefighters were the first responders. Air Force personnel arrived sometime later and oredered the firement out of the area before they had finished knocking down the blaze. The site was declared a National Defense Area (NDA) for the duration of recovery activities.

Air Force clean-up and recovery crews complteted their mission by erecting a U.S. flag on a pole at the highest point of the immediate impact area. They departed the scene on 6 August. On 7 August the NDA restriction was lifted.

On 8 August, a film crew from KERO-TV arrived at the site by helicopter. They collected some debris and later showed it on a television news broadcast. Photos of the debris appeared in a Los Angeles Times article on 12 August.

Bill Marvel and Dave Lewis hiked to the site on 18 October. The largest piece they found weighed 7 pounds. Marvel turned this in to the Air Force after showing it to a Los Angeles Times reporter. The Times ran an article and photos on 27 November.

I visited the site for the first time on 28 December 1986. I have revisited the site 7 times so far. On the last visit, on 12 September 1999, Tony Moore and I replaced the flag, which had been destroyed by the wind.

In Reply to: Re: Questions about the Nellis F101 crash posted by lone wolf on September 09, 2005 at 12:46:35 PST:

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