F-22 Pilot Awarded Top Safety Honor for Belly Landing
A US Air Force F-22 pilot received the service's highest flight safety award for successfully belly-landing a $156 million stealth fighter after a wheel
The US Air Force has presented its Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy, its most prestigious flight safety award, to Captain Michael Cloninger. The pilot landed an F-22 Raptor on its belly in September 2024 after its right main wheel assembly separated during takeoff in the US Central Command area of operations.
Chief of Staff General Ken Wilsbach presented the award at a Pentagon ceremony on September 8, 2026. The trophy, named for a pilot lost in 1955, is the only such award presented by the service's top officer and recognizes exceptional airmanship in emergencies.
Wheel Detachment During Memorial Flight
On September 18, 2024, Captain Cloninger was flying as the second jet in a four-ship formation. The mission was a memorial flyover marking the Battle of Britain anniversary. Immediately after takeoff, the F-22's right main wheel assembly departed the aircraft.
The flight discontinued its mission and stayed near the airfield. Cloninger slowed the jet and lowered the landing gear. His flight lead confirmed the entire wheel assembly was missing.
Executing an Uncharted Procedure
No written checklist existed for this specific failure. Cloninger selected the gear-up landing checklist, ruling out an attempt to land on one wheel and one bare strut.
He flew for roughly an hour to burn fuel while coordinating with air traffic control and emergency crews. He then made a low approach using an emergency flap setting before executing a shallow, on-speed approach for a centerline touchdown. The service stated this prevented a post-landing fire. Cloninger shut down both engines and performed an emergency egress.
General Wilsbach said the pilot faced an invisible failure with no aircraft warning while carrying a full combat load. He "flew the aircraft all the way through the emergency," Wilsbach said. Cloninger credited his wingmen and ground personnel for their help with communications and checklists.
A Rare and Valuable Recovery
The aircraft was eventually flown out of the theater after diagnostics. The Air Force described this as an unprecedented recovery for a belly-landed F-22. It valued the airframe at $156 million. An official accident investigation board report has not been published.
The F-22 fleet is finite, with production having ended in 2011. As of January 2025, 178 F-22s were in service. Landing gear issues are not entirely new for the type; a tire blowout occurred during a takeoff at Kadena Air Base, Japan, in October 2024.
The Air Force release did not identify the specific base involved in the September 2024 incident. Captain Cloninger's unit, the 90th Fighter Squadron, is based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. Roughly a dozen of its F-22s had deployed to the US Central Command area in August of that year.
