F-22 Raptor 07-146 returns to service after 4 years

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May 8, 2023 | By David Roza
An Air Force F-22 Raptor flew once again May 4, five years after it suffered extensive damage from a botched takeoff on April 13, 2018.

With only 186 Raptors in the entire Air Force inventory, getting just one of the formidable air-to-air fighters back to operations represents a significant achievement for the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, where the F-22 is assigned.

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On May 4, Lt. Col. Philip Johnson, a functional-check-flight pilot assigned to the 514th Flight Test Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, flew a test flight of the F-22.

“They did a great job on the airplane,” he said in the press release. “There were some minor maintenance notes found during the sortie, but those will be handled by maintenance. It’s good to go back to operational flying.”

The return of the F-22 to operational status is one of many minor miracles military aircraft maintainers accomplish on a regular basis. Air Force maintainers restored an A-10 “Warthog” four years after belly-landing in Michigan, while Navy sailors once brought back an EA-18G Growler that had been considered beyond repair five years after suffering a mid-air collision.

“Five months ago it had no struts, no wings, no flight controls, no hydraulics, no stabilizers,” Fitch said in December 2021. “Seeing the progress and doing something out of the ordinary has been really rewarding. … It’s going to be very satisfying when it flies.”

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-f ... ies-again/