The crash and cover-up of a top-secret USAF stealth fighter in the California wilderness caused a media frenzy

In July 1986, a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk crashed in Sequoia National Forest, prompting the U.S. Air Force to keep the incident tightly under wraps. As news of the crash circulated throughout the country, the military went to great lengths to conceal the aircraft’s identity, even swapping the wreckage with that of a McDonnell F-101A Voodoo.

Ironically, these efforts only fueled public curiosity about what the military was trying to hide.

Mysterious crash in Sequoia National Forest

On July 11, 1986, the US Air Force conducted a test flight of the F-117 Nighthawk, which, at the time, was still a top-secret project. At around 2:00 AM that morning, the aircraft crashed while flying over Sequoia National Forest, killing the pilot and triggering a 150-acre brush fire. The blaze was eventually brought under control by firefighters from Kern County and the US Forest Service.

Immediately after the incident, the Air Force cordoned off the area around Kern River Canyon, establishing a restricted airspace. This was to prevent anyone from viewing the scene and potentially gaining intel on the new aircraft being developed.

In a statement, the Kern County Sheriff's Office said, "The whole area has been restricted, including the air space above the crash site. There will be military aircraft in the area, and anyone entering the area will be dealt with appropriately by the Air Force."

A statement from the Air Force was equally as vague, only revealing that a US military aircraft had crashed in a general area of Sequoia National Forest and that a board of officers had been appointed to investigate the incident. "That's the guidance we've been given from Washington," said Staff Sgt. Lorri Wray. "We can't give out any details."

All a Pentagon spokesperson would reveal , when asked, was that the aircraft was "not a bomber."

Replacing the F-117 Nighthawk with an F-101A Voodoo

US Air Force personnel swiftly moved to recover debris from the F-117 Nighthawk crash, after which they substituted the wreckage with that of an F-101A Voodoo, which had been stored at Area 51. The Voodoo had been out of service since 1972 with the Air Force and 1982 with the Air National Guard.

The crash quickly drew public attention, with many assuming the aircraft originated from Edwards Air Force Base , California, just 65 miles from the site. This assumption arose because Edwards frequently tests advanced aircraft, including prototypes, new bombers, and modified models.

Among the aircraft tested there were the Northrop F-20 Tigershark and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer .

Sources incorrectly reveal the aircraft was an F-19

In an article published by the Associated Press on the day of the crash, International Arms Combat editor Andy Lightbody mentioned that unnamed sources had informed him the aircraft was an F-19. This mostly speculative aircraft, which the US Air Force has never confirmed exists, has long been the subject of legend among military aviation enthusiasts.

The notion that the US military was developing a classified stealth aircraft designated "F-19" emerged after the announcement of the F-20. Since its predecessor was the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, many assumed the next fighter would follow numerically. When this didn’t happen, it sparked speculation of a covert project.

The Air Force quickly dismissed these rumors, attributing the gap in designations to Northrop’s specific request that the Tigershark be designated as the F-20. Nonetheless, some still believe the F-19 was in development and that Lockheed was tasked with its production.

Unveiling the F-117 Nighthawk

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk came about in the 1970s in response to a study conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which found that aircraft manned by the United States were unexpectedly vulnerable to adversary forces. This led the agency to hold a competition for a new stealth fighter design, which Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works won.

A few years after the contract was awarded, in 1981, the F-117 underwent its first test flight , with deliveries to the US Air Force occurring the following year. Despite becoming operational just two years later, the stealth fighter was kept shrouded in secrecy, with the military only revealing its development to the public in 1988. Two years later, civilians were given their first glimpse of the aircraft.

Only 64 were built during the F-117's service life, of which five were prototypes. Along with seeing service during the Gulf War , the aircraft featured in the Yugoslav Wars , during which one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). The stealth fighter was retired in 2008 and replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor .

Despite this, a fleet of F-117s are kept in airworthy condition.

F-117 Nighthawk specs

Designed to deflect radar, the F-117 Nighthawk featured angled panels coated with radar-absorbing material, making the aircraft virtually invisible on-screen. It was capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 0.92, thanks to its two General Electric F404-F1D2 turbofan engines, and had a range of 1,070 miles.

The F-117 was equipped with two internal weapons bays with one hardpoint each, which allowed it to carry an array of explosives: the B61 nuclear bomb, the GBU-31 JDAM INS/GPS guided munition, the GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, the GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb and the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, all with varying types of warheads.

Other important features were that the F-117 had a V-tail and was air refuelable. Additionally, it was operated through the use of quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire flight controls, which had been derived from those used by the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon , the F/A-18 Hornet, the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress .

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Flown primarily by the US Air Force, the stealth fighter was operated by the 412th Test Wing out of Edwards Air Force Base; the 4450th Tactical Group and 37th Tactical Fighter Wing out of Tonopah Test Range, in Nevada; and the 49th Fighter Wing out of Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.