Air Force
Fighter jet with missing wheel lands at Air Force base on Okinawa
Stars and Stripes
August 4, 2025
An F-15E Strike Eagle deployed to Kadena Air Base landed safely after one of its wheels was discovered missing in flight. (Hung-Hsin Hsu)
An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle deployed to Kadena Air Base landed safely Monday evening after one of its wheels was discovered missing in flight, according to the 18th Wing.
The jet landed around 6:40 p.m., the wing said in a news release shortly after the incident. There were two crew members on board, and no injuries were reported.
Emergency personnel responded immediately, according to the release.
An F-15E Strike Eagle bleeds black smoke from its back right side where a wheel went missing during its flight. (Hung-Hsin Hsu)
An F-15E Strike Eagle comes in for the landing at Kadena Air Base on Monday, August 4, 2025. The fighter jet’s back right wheel is bare. (Hung-Hsin Hsu)
The missing wheel was later recovered on the flight line at U.S. Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, a remote island base in the Indian Ocean, the wing said.
No other information was immediately available.