Date:	Thursday 28 December 1978
Time:
Type:	McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle
Owner/operator:	22TFS, 36TFW, USAF
Registration:	75-0064
MSN:	0167/A144
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	2 miles S of Daun, Eifel, Rheinland-Pfalz -   Germany
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Bitburg AFB (EDAB)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Crashed soon after take off from Bitburg AFB; one engine caught fire and was shut down, remaining engine failed. Crashed 2 miles South of Daun, Eifel, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany Pilot - 1st Lt Thomas Mascot - ejected safely

The mishap aircraft was on an Air Combat Tactics mission. After the third engagement, the pilot entered a chandelle manoeuvre. The wingman reported fire coming from the nozzle area, probably from the starboard engine. The pilot cut the afterburner on the port engine, shut off the fuel to the other engine and entered a shallow dive to maintain airspeed. During the recovery the left engine wound down and attempts to air start both engines were unsuccessful. The pilot ejected safely.

Article in FLIGHT 13th January 1979 p.72 - FOLLOWING the loss of a US Air Force F-15 in West Germany on December 28—the second within ten days—maintenance procedures of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) are to be reviewed. Apart from the aircraft standing air-defence alert, all Bitburg-based Eagles have been restricted to dry thrust only. The restrictions will be lifted once the maintenance review has been satisfactorily completed and the 36th TFW aircraft have had a revised jet fuel starter system fitted.

The system, which allows ground starts without external power, is to be modified to enable the pilot to restart the Eagle's Pratt & Whitney F100s while flying at low altitude. All but one of the aircraft operated by the 32nd TFS at Soesterberg, the Netherlands, have already been modified and are therefore unrestricted. The latest accident The latest accident, near Daun, resulted in the ninth F-15 loss. The pilot, 1st Lt Thomas Mascot, ejected safely. The 36th TFW has lost five F-15s since April last year. An Air Force spokesman says that the accidents had no single cause. Four have been charged to operational procedures, three to maintenance defects and two are still being investigated. The F-15 has so far accumulated 135,000 flying hours, and the loss rate at this point compares favourably with those of a number of US fighters

www.scramble.nl
http://www.f-15.nl/wo.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20171029221354/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/f-15.htm
http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=242318&st=20

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Apr-2012 12:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
02-Apr-2012 12:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
25-Aug-2013 19:28	Uli Elch	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Narrative]