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| A Fighter Jet Flipped. Hangars Shredded. At Tyndall Air Force Base, a ‘Complete Loss.’ | A Fighter Jet Flipped. Hangars Shredded. At Tyndall Air Force Base, a ‘Complete Loss.’ |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| As Hurricane Michael tore across the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, shredding buildings and homes in its path, the mostly empty Tyndall Air Force Base braced for a ferocious impact. | As Hurricane Michael tore across the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, shredding buildings and homes in its path, the mostly empty Tyndall Air Force Base braced for a ferocious impact. |
| A wind gauge surged to 130 miles per hour, and then broke. Hangars where Air Force jets have sheltered during past tropical storms began to groan and shudder before being ripped to ribbons. | A wind gauge surged to 130 miles per hour, and then broke. Hangars where Air Force jets have sheltered during past tropical storms began to groan and shudder before being ripped to ribbons. |
| The eye of the storm cut directly over the base, which sits on a narrow spit of land that juts into the Gulf of Mexico, about a dozen miles south of Panama City. Trees bent in the howling wind, then splintered. Stormproof roofs only a few months old peeled like old paint and were scraped away by the gale. An F-15 fighter jet on display at the base entrance was ripped from its foundation and pitched onto its back amid twisted flagpoles and uprooted trees. | The eye of the storm cut directly over the base, which sits on a narrow spit of land that juts into the Gulf of Mexico, about a dozen miles south of Panama City. Trees bent in the howling wind, then splintered. Stormproof roofs only a few months old peeled like old paint and were scraped away by the gale. An F-15 fighter jet on display at the base entrance was ripped from its foundation and pitched onto its back amid twisted flagpoles and uprooted trees. |
| When it was over, the base lay in ruins, amid what the Air Force called “widespread catastrophic damage.” There were no reported injuries, in part because nearly all personnel had been ordered to leave in advance of the Category 4 hurricane’s landfall. Commanders still sifting through mounds of wreckage Thursday could not say when evacuation orders would be lifted. | When it was over, the base lay in ruins, amid what the Air Force called “widespread catastrophic damage.” There were no reported injuries, in part because nearly all personnel had been ordered to leave in advance of the Category 4 hurricane’s landfall. Commanders still sifting through mounds of wreckage Thursday could not say when evacuation orders would be lifted. |
| [Follow our live updates on the aftermath of Hurricane Michael here] | [Follow our live updates on the aftermath of Hurricane Michael here] |
| As the monster storm barreled toward the Florida coast this week, the Air Force worked to minimize possible destruction. Tyndall is home to the largest group of F-22 stealth fighters — 55 of them, each costing a dizzying $339 million. At least 33 of the stealth fighters and about 17 trainer jets were flown to safety, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Planes from nearby Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base also fled inland in the days before the storm. | |
| But not all of the stealth fighters were saved. Photos and video from the wreckage of the base showed the distinctive contours of its squared tail fins and angled vertical stabilizers jumbled among the rubble of the base’s largest building, Hangar 5. Another photo shows the distinctive jet in a smaller hangar that had its doors ripped off by wind. | |
| An Air Force spokeswoman, Maj. Malinda Singleton, declined on Friday to say how many of the delicate stealth fighters had been left behind, but said a number remained because of “maintenance or safety reasons, and all of those hangars are damaged.” | |
| “We anticipate the aircraft parked inside may be damaged as well,” she continued, “but we won’t know the extent until our crews can safely enter those hangars and make an assessment.” | |
| According to a base briefing, the high-tech and notoriously finicky jets are not always flight-worthy. An Air Force report this year found that on average, only about 49 percent of F-22s were ready at any given time. | |
| The Air Force’s strategy to sidestep risk was starkly different from the Marine Corps’ decision last month to face off against Hurricane Florence and not evacuate Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. At the time, Camp Lejeune’s commander, Brig. Gen. Julian Alford, said he had the supplies and equipment to brave the storm, noting, “finally, we have Marines who will be ready to assist and take care of each other.” | The Air Force’s strategy to sidestep risk was starkly different from the Marine Corps’ decision last month to face off against Hurricane Florence and not evacuate Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. At the time, Camp Lejeune’s commander, Brig. Gen. Julian Alford, said he had the supplies and equipment to brave the storm, noting, “finally, we have Marines who will be ready to assist and take care of each other.” |
| But the Air Force’s mission is centered on delicate and astronomically expensive aircraft, and a culture that thinks little of traveling several hundred miles in an afternoon. So when storms threaten, the force tends to fly rather than fight. | But the Air Force’s mission is centered on delicate and astronomically expensive aircraft, and a culture that thinks little of traveling several hundred miles in an afternoon. So when storms threaten, the force tends to fly rather than fight. |
| “Wing commanders make the call,” Major Singleton said. “If there is a potential threat they are prepared to minimize damage.” | |
| Only a few planes secured in hangars and a small “ride out element” of airmen stayed behind during Hurricane Michael. | Only a few planes secured in hangars and a small “ride out element” of airmen stayed behind during Hurricane Michael. |
| Its aftermath was both devastating and remarkable, with helicopter footage of the base Thursday morning showing hangars that had easily survived past storms now riddled with gaping holes. At least three twin-engine propeller planes owned by a contractor and used for training were buried in debris from the wreckage of the largest hangar, which also housed at least five QF-16 jets — retired fighters that have been stripped down and turned into drones and used as target practice. Those, too, were entombed beneath what was left of the building. | Its aftermath was both devastating and remarkable, with helicopter footage of the base Thursday morning showing hangars that had easily survived past storms now riddled with gaping holes. At least three twin-engine propeller planes owned by a contractor and used for training were buried in debris from the wreckage of the largest hangar, which also housed at least five QF-16 jets — retired fighters that have been stripped down and turned into drones and used as target practice. Those, too, were entombed beneath what was left of the building. |
| [Click here for photos from Hurricane Michael.] | [Click here for photos from Hurricane Michael.] |
| In a Facebook post late Thursday, base leaders said many of the buildings were “a complete loss.” The marina, its structures and docks were also destroyed. Power lines and trees blocked nearly every road, and utilities and electricity had not been turned back on. | In a Facebook post late Thursday, base leaders said many of the buildings were “a complete loss.” The marina, its structures and docks were also destroyed. Power lines and trees blocked nearly every road, and utilities and electricity had not been turned back on. |
| The destruction of an air force base can only be matched in scope by the pounding that Hurricane Andrew gave Homestead Air Force Base, just south of Miami, in 1992. That Category 5 storm, with winds estimated at 150 m.p.h., smashed hangars and left battered fighter jets and mammoth cargo planes in pieces on the runway. Nearly all of the surviving planes and personnel were reassigned to other bases. Two years later, it reopened as a smaller, Air Force Reserve base. | The destruction of an air force base can only be matched in scope by the pounding that Hurricane Andrew gave Homestead Air Force Base, just south of Miami, in 1992. That Category 5 storm, with winds estimated at 150 m.p.h., smashed hangars and left battered fighter jets and mammoth cargo planes in pieces on the runway. Nearly all of the surviving planes and personnel were reassigned to other bases. Two years later, it reopened as a smaller, Air Force Reserve base. |
| The Air Force was unable to say Thursday when Tyndall might resume operations. Other Air Force and Navy bases in the area, which were spared the brunt of the storm, reopened in a limited capacity Thursday. | The Air Force was unable to say Thursday when Tyndall might resume operations. Other Air Force and Navy bases in the area, which were spared the brunt of the storm, reopened in a limited capacity Thursday. |
| Tyndall, where about 3,600 airmen are stationed, sits on 29,000 acres that include undeveloped woods and beaches, as well as stores, restaurants, schools, a bowling alley and quiet, tree-lined streets with hundreds of homes for both active-duty and retired military. Video footage captured the ruin there, too: The high-powered storm skinned roofs, shattered windows, and tossed cars and trailers like toys, transforming the normally pristine base into a trash heap. Multistory barracks buildings stood open to the sky. | Tyndall, where about 3,600 airmen are stationed, sits on 29,000 acres that include undeveloped woods and beaches, as well as stores, restaurants, schools, a bowling alley and quiet, tree-lined streets with hundreds of homes for both active-duty and retired military. Video footage captured the ruin there, too: The high-powered storm skinned roofs, shattered windows, and tossed cars and trailers like toys, transforming the normally pristine base into a trash heap. Multistory barracks buildings stood open to the sky. |
| The Air Force said Thursday that recovery teams conducted an initial assessment of portions of base housing and found widespread roof damage to nearly every home. | The Air Force said Thursday that recovery teams conducted an initial assessment of portions of base housing and found widespread roof damage to nearly every home. |
| “At this point, Tyndall residents and evacuated personnel should remain at their safe location,” said Col. Brian Laidlaw, 325th Fighter Wing commander. “We are actively developing plans to reunite families and plan to provide safe passage back to base housing.” | “At this point, Tyndall residents and evacuated personnel should remain at their safe location,” said Col. Brian Laidlaw, 325th Fighter Wing commander. “We are actively developing plans to reunite families and plan to provide safe passage back to base housing.” |
| William Arrowood was among the neighborhood’s newest residents. A civilian, he moved into his father’s home on Monday with his wife, children and pets to take care of his father, an Army retiree who had recently had a stroke. Mr. Arrowood was still unpacking when he heard the squadrons of fighter jets flying off to safer ground. He thought the storm would miss his new home, and was excited to move into what he described as a paradise. | William Arrowood was among the neighborhood’s newest residents. A civilian, he moved into his father’s home on Monday with his wife, children and pets to take care of his father, an Army retiree who had recently had a stroke. Mr. Arrowood was still unpacking when he heard the squadrons of fighter jets flying off to safer ground. He thought the storm would miss his new home, and was excited to move into what he described as a paradise. |
| “It was great. I could throw a rock in the ocean from my house. No crime, people are friendly, great fishing,” he said in a phone interview. “That’s all gone. The storm went straight through my front yard.” | “It was great. I could throw a rock in the ocean from my house. No crime, people are friendly, great fishing,” he said in a phone interview. “That’s all gone. The storm went straight through my front yard.” |
| With only a few days in his new house, he had not yet signed up for renter’s insurance. He evacuated and has not returned, but he said he fears he and his family are wiped out. | With only a few days in his new house, he had not yet signed up for renter’s insurance. He evacuated and has not returned, but he said he fears he and his family are wiped out. |
| “We lost pretty much everything,” he said, “and we’re not really sure now what to do.” | “We lost pretty much everything,” he said, “and we’re not really sure now what to do.” |