Story and images on Edwards site

http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123091878

by 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

3/27/2008 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II made an emergency landing here without its landing gear at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The aircraft was participating in a Green Flag sortie out of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The plane, which had one person aboard, was assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

The pilot safely exited the aircraft unharmed and was evaluated by flight surgeons here before being released.

"Edwards is uniquely suited to handle these kinds of in-flight emergencies," said base officials. "Not only do we have first responders who are well-prepared and equipped to work these incidents, Edwards has the benefit of an enormous lakebed, which can provide a soft landing for any aircraft in distress."

Although a lakebed landing was an option, the A-10 performed a landing on the base's primary landing strip, Runway 22, officials said.

A board of officers will investigate the incident.

I guess they can that one a groundhog.......................

Good old warriors never let you down: an earlier design feature of this bird was the undercarriage only partially retracting in the wing's sponson... looking carefully, the airplane hasn't suffered any major damage, and I bet she will be back to "work" really soon... Regarding the failure, every guess is premature: its hydraulic system are solidly built and redundant. Need to wait for the official report.