How one grounded F-16 keeps others flying

While most Air Force maintainers spend their shifts keeping combat jets flight-ready, an eight-person depot crew recently arrived at Edwards Air Force Base with the opposite mission: dismantling a damaged fighter to keep the rest of the fleet in the sky.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon, tail number A86-0047, arrived at Edwards Air Force Base in 2010, but a ground mishap that caused irreparable landing gear damage forced its early retirement from active service in 2026.

“Every jet on our ramp plays a unique role in flight test programs across so many different airframes, whether its flying chase support for F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning IIs or testing the newest software upgrades and capabilities,” said Master Sgt. Ryan O’Neal, 416th Aircraft Maintenance Unit section chief. “While A0047 won’t support from the sky anymore, its new place in the boneyard will supply parts for F-16 Fighting Falcons flying all different missions across the Air Force.”

In August, the expeditionary depot maintenance team from the 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, deployed to Edwards to surgically deconstruct the multi-million-dollar airframe.

“When we take apart a jet, we aren’t just clearing hangar space,” said Tech. Sgt. Thomas Sickafoose, the team chief from Hill AFB. “We are salvaging hard-to-find, discontinued parts that keep other combat aircraft mission-ready.”

Tech. Sgt. Mikah Mattingly and Staff Sgt. Riley Tust, 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group, work on the top spline-drive bolts of an F-16 Fighting Falcon to detach its wing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Aug. 21. The Airmen are part of a Hill Air Force Base expeditionary depot maintenance team deployed to Edwards AFB to strip the retired aircraft and ship its parts to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly known as "the Boneyard," at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lindsey Gordon)

Deploying lean requires precision coordination. Before leaving Utah, the mobile crew worked closely with the 412th Maintenance Squadron at Edwards to cross-check inventories and determine what equipment they could source on-site.

“Packing and crating is our specialty, so our core kits are always prepped and ready to deploy,” Sickafoose said. “Coordinating with the 412th MXS helped us leave our heaviest gear behind. For example, we left our master crane in Utah because we could tie straight into their hangar’s overhead crane system.”

Staff Sgt. Joshua Warner and Tech. Sgt. Thomas Sickafoose, 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group, work to detach the left horizontal stabilizer of an F-16 Fighting Falcon, while Staff Sgt. Alijah Gonzales and Tech. Sgt. Mikah Mattingly, also 309th AMG, pause their work on the right stabilizer at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Aug. 24. The Airmen are part of a Hill Air Force Base expeditionary depot maintenance team deployed to Edwards AFB to strip the retired aircraft and ship its parts to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly known as "the Boneyard," at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lindsey Iniguez)

The team typically operates under a tight two-week window to dismantle a fighter, building in time for stubborn hardware or unexpected delays.

“This isn't a demolition; it’s a preservation effort,” said Master Sgt. Brett Jones, a fuels specialist from Hill AFB. “Every single part, large or small, heavy or light, is tagged and packed into custom-fitted shipping crates, so it arrives at the supply depot fully protected, easily identified and ready for reuse.”

The crew completed the operation ahead of schedule, even after pausing for a rigorous inspection by egress specialists. The specialists assessed all pyrotechnic and hazardous systems, then systematically defused and stripped the critical systems to ensure safe, rapid transit.

"The 412th egress team rendered the airframe safe by removing Class 1.3 explosives, including the canopy removers, trajectory divergence rocket, vernier rockets and seat rocket catapult," said Cruz Gallardo, 412th Maintenance Group egress section chief. "These egress components are the most hazardous on the F-16. Removing them was crucial for a safe and fast shipment to its final destination."

Staff Sgt. Joshua Warner and Senior Airman Jezreal Rae (top), 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group, work to detach the vertical stabilizer of an F-16 Fighting Falcon, while Tech. Sgt. Mikah Mattingly (center) and Staff Sgt. Alijah Gonzales (bottom), also 309th AMG, disassemble parts of the center fuselage at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Aug. 24. The Airmen are part of a Hill Air Force Base expeditionary depot maintenance team deployed to Edwards AFB to strip the retired aircraft and ship its parts to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly known as "the Boneyard," at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lindsey Iniguez)

The most delicate milestone of the teardown involved unbolting the fighter’s primary flight surfaces without stressing the metal.

“Pulling the wings required precision because of the structural finger braces,” said Tech. Sgt. Mikah Mattingly, a fuels specialist from Hill AFB. “Even hairline damage to those fittings ruins the value of the entire wing assembly.”

After salvaging and boxing the critical avionics, structural hardware and flight controls, the team prepped them for transport to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly known as “the Boneyard,” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.

“Getting A0047 off to the boneyard has been an effort that took months of coordination and teamwork,” said Capt. Jenna Kuperberg, 416th Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge. “It’s a perfect example of how we can take an aircraft at the end of its service life and repurpose it for something entirely different, giving constrained parts and pieces back to other aircraft and units across the fleet for years to come.”

Senior Airman Jezreal Rae, 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group, lifts the bare fuselage of an F-16 Fighting Falcon onto a heavy-duty shipping cradle at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Aug. 24. The Airman is part of a Hill Air Force Base expeditionary depot maintenance team deployed to Edwards AFB to strip the retired aircraft and ship its parts to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly known as "the Boneyard," at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lindsey Iniguez)

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