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FRESNO, Calif. — A retired U.S. Air Force colonel says he’s grateful a pilot is alive after Saturday’s in-flight emergency for a Fresno-based fighter jet.
The F15 lost its canopy somewhere over the Sierra Nevada mountains after it took part in a flyover at the local Clovis Rodeo.
The pilot was able to land safely at Fresno Yosemite International Airport without it, which is located right next to the California National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing, from which the fighter jet was based.
Canopies, the protective covers that shield pilots as they’re in the air, are critical to their safety.
The malfunction is something retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Rob Swertfager says is both extremely uncommon and incredibly dangerous.
“This would be like driving a sports car, convertible, at 300 to 500 miles an hour,” said Swertfager.
The colonel served with the 144th before his retirement in 2023, and affiliate KFSN was there for his final landing at the Air Guard base in Fresno.
His career ranged from protecting the California coast on 9/11 to training and flying with Ukrainian fighter pilots.
In an interview with KFSN’ Kerry Mannix on Sunday, Swertfager explained that when pilots are exposed without a canopy at too low an altitude, it can be severely disorienting.
“Your time to survive when you are low level is seconds,” he said.
He went on to explain that flying without the protective canopy at high altitudes is equally, if not more, perilous.
F15Cs can fly up to 50,000 feet. If a pilot is anywhere above 30,000, Swertfager says they can quickly lose consciousness.
“A human can’t breathe or survive up there without life support systems,” he said.
There are many other ways Saturday’s malfunction could have been worse, but the only casualty was the canopy.
The Fresno Fire Department said after the pilot made an emergency landing at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, he was evaluated by EMS, and no injuries were reported.
Fire officials turned the investigation over to the military.
KFSN reached out to a spokesperson for the 144th Fighter Wing for comment and asked whether there’s any word on whether the canopy has been located.
Spokesperson Jason Sanchez responded in a statement, which reads:
“There’s an ongoing investigation, and protecting the integrity of that investigation is critical. Because of this, the policy doesn’t allow us to discuss this matter in detail. We continue to be grateful that there are no reported injuries.”
Swertfager says he joins them in gratitude for that safe landing and for the diligent training of the 144th’s pilots.
“The fact that he was able to get that multi-million-dollar aircraft back on the ground safely in our city is props – props to him and the organization,” said Swertfager.
There’s no word yet on what may have caused the canopy to detach on Saturday.
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