Date:	Monday 28 February 1977
Time:
Type:	McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle
Owner/operator:	433rd FWS, 57th FWW, USAF
Registration:	74-0129
MSN:	0105/A090
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	46 nm W of Nellis AFB, Nevada -   United States of America
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Nellis AFB, Nevada (LSV/KLSV)
Destination airport:	Nellis AFB, Nevada (LSV/KLSV)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Mid-air collision with a Northrop F‑5E (which landed safely) on the Nellis ranges in Nevada, 46 nautical miles west of Nellis AFB: pilot ejected safely. Per eyewitness report:

"I was on the line the day 74-0129 had the midair collision with the F-5. Major Merrick was the pilot of the F-15, I believe his first name was Russell. His first flight back in the air after the incident was in my aircraft, 74-0111. During our walk around inspection I told Maj. it was good to see him back. He told me he had punched out of an F-4 when he was in Vietnam. He then paused and looked at me and said the Air Force grounds a pilot after a 3rd ejection.

"I wont ever punch out again, if there is a next time, I will play like the Navy and go down with the ship". The F-5 had video footage of the collision. The F-5 and F-15 were flying an ACEVAL/AIMVAL training mission 1 v 1. At some point during the "dog fight" they turned into each other and one of the dummy missile attached to the wing missile rail struck the F-15 just aft of the air refueling door.

The F-5 flew through the F-15s twin tails with its wings perpendicular to the F-15s wings. Major Merrick declared an IFE and intended to return to Nellis. He told me that he could see flames coming up the backbone of the aircraft and decided it was time to leave and ejected."

1. Davies, Steve; Dildy, Doug (2007). F-15 Eagle Engaged—The World's Most Successful Jet Fighter. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-169-4. p.240
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20171029221354/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/f-15.htm
3. http://www.f-15.nl/wo.html
4. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1974.htm]l

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Apr-2012 09:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
11-Jul-2016 23:47	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]