In July 1986, a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk went down in Sequoia National Forest, an incident the U.S. Air Force worked hard to keep under wraps. As news of the crash circulated nationwide, the military took extensive steps to obscure the aircraft’s identity, even swapping out the wreckage with parts from a McDonnell F-101A Voodoo.
Ironically, these efforts only increased public curiosity about what the military was trying to conceal.
Mysterious crash in Sequoia National Forest
On July 11, 1986, the US Air Force conducted a test flight of the F-117 Nighthawk, a project still classified at the time. Around 2:00 AM, the aircraft crashed while flying over Sequoia National Forest, resulting in the pilot’s death and igniting a 150-acre brush fire. Firefighters from Kern County and the US Forest Service eventually managed to contain the blaze.
Following the crash, the Air Force immediately cordoned off the area surrounding Kern River Canyon and established restricted airspace to prevent any unauthorized viewing of the crash site, safeguarding information on the new aircraft under development.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office stated, “The whole area has been restricted, including the air space above the crash site. There will be military aircraft in the area, and anyone entering the area will be dealt with appropriately by the Air Force.”
The Air Force’s own statement provided little additional information, only disclosing that a US military aircraft had crashed in the Sequoia National Forest region and that a board of officers had been appointed to investigate. “That’s the guidance we’ve been given from Washington,” said Staff Sgt. Lorri Wray. “We can’t give out any details.”
When pressed for more information, a Pentagon spokesperson would only reveal that the aircraft was “not a bomber.”
Replacing the F-117 Nighthawk with an F-101A Voodoo
US Air Force personnel swiftly moved to recover debris from the F-117 Nighthawk crash, after which they substituted the wreckage with that of an F-101A Voodoo, which had been stored at Area 51. The Voodoo had been out of service since 1972 with the Air Force and 1982 with the Air National Guard.
The crash quickly drew public attention, with many assuming the aircraft originated from Edwards Air Force Base, California, just 65 miles from the site. This assumption arose because Edwards frequently tests advanced aircraft, including prototypes, new bombers, and modified models.
Among the aircraft tested there were the Northrop F-20 Tigershark and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer.
Sources incorrectly reveal the aircraft was an F-19
In an article released by the Associated Press on the day of the crash, International Arms Combat editor Andy Lightbody stated that unnamed sources had told him the aircraft was an F-19. This largely speculative aircraft, which the U.S. Air Force has never acknowledged, has long fueled fascination among military aviation enthusiasts.
The idea that the U.S. military was working on a classified stealth aircraft designated “F-19” arose after the F-20’s announcement. Following the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, many assumed the next fighter jet would be labeled in numerical order. When this didn’t happen, it ignited rumors of a covert project.
The Air Force promptly dismissed these rumors, explaining that the numbering gap was due to Northrop’s request to name the Tigershark the F-20. Nevertheless, some still believe the F-19 was indeed under development, with Lockheed possibly overseeing its production.
Unveiling the F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk came about in the 1970s in response to a study conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which found that aircraft manned by the United States were unexpectedly vulnerable to adversary forces. This led the agency to hold a competition for a new stealth fighter design, which Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works won.
A few years after the contract was awarded, in 1981, the F-117 underwent its first test flight, with deliveries to the US Air Force occurring the following year. Despite becoming operational just two years later, the stealth fighter was kept shrouded in secrecy, with the military only revealing its development to the public in 1988. Two years later, civilians were given their first glimpse of the aircraft.
Only 64 were built during the F-117’s service life, of which five were prototypes. Along with seeing service during the Gulf War, the aircraft featured in the Yugoslav Wars, during which one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). The stealth fighter was retired in 2008 and replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
Despite this, a fleet of F-117s are kept in airworthy condition.
F-117 Nighthawk specs
Designed to deflect radar, the F-117 Nighthawk featured angled panels coated with radar-absorbing material, making the aircraft virtually invisible on-screen. It was capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 0.92, thanks to its two General Electric F404-F1D2 turbofan engines, and had a range of 1,070 miles.
The F-117 was equipped with two internal weapons bays with one hardpoint each, which allowed it to carry an array of explosives: the B61 nuclear bomb, the GBU-31 JDAM INS/GPS guided munition, the GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, the GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb and the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, all with varying types of warheads.
Other important features were that the F-117 had a V-tail and was air refuelable. Additionally, it was operated through the use of quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire flight controls, which had been derived from those used by the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F/A-18 Hornet, the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
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Flown primarily by the US Air Force, the stealth fighter was operated by the 412th Test Wing out of Edwards Air Force Base; the 4450th Tactical Group and 37th Tactical Fighter Wing out of Tonopah Test Range, in Nevada; and the 49th Fighter Wing out of Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.