The jet crash at Weston Hills last October was caused by pilot error and “imperfections” with the plane’s nose cap.
An investigation by US Air Force officials found “clear and convincing evidence” that the crash was caused by a combination of the two factors.
“The angle of attack of the aircraft at the time and imperfections in the radome’s nose cap assembly,” a report released on Thursday revealed.
The £28million F-15D Eagle was destroyed when it came down in a field off Broadgate at about 3.30pm on October 8.
The pilot – the only person on board – ejected safely, sustaining only minor injuries. He was a qualified F-15 pilot with 1,645 flight hours.
The report says that he was performing a series of manoeuvres called “vertical jinks” in order to bring the jet closer to his “opponent”.
Then the doomed pilot performed an “aft-stick pull” which put the plane into “wing rock”, a condition indicating a stall.
The report, which states the pilot could not recall doing the pull, says this was “an inappropriate response to conditions and over controlled the aircraft”.
Whilst performing this manoeuvre, a defect in the F-15D’s nose generated enough force on the plane to put it into a spin that reached 111 degrees of turning a second.
The pilot attempted recovery manoeuvres but to no avail.
“I’m out, man,” he radioed, just before ejecting.
A clean-up of the farmer’s field cost £400,000.
