Technology Slice Blog

F22 Crashed In Alaska - It will likely be months before the Air Force identifies an exact cause for this week's crash of its most advanced stealth fighter, but one thing is certain: The loss will push the aircraft's already high accident rate even higher. Even before Tuesday's crash in Alaska, the Air Force's stealthy fighter -- the F-22 Raptor -- had the highest accident rate of any fighter in that service branch's inventory. According to the latest statistics provided by the Air Force, which go through 2009, the F-22 since being fielded has suffered six Class A accidents -- accidents that result in more than $1 million in damage -- since entering the inventory. The latest crash would be the seventh Class A accident. More telling, however, is the rate for those mishaps. The F-22's five-year Class A mishap rate was six per 100,000 flying, based on a five-year average --higher than for any other fighter in the inventory. But that number is also somewhat mi...