Wind, Problems Cut Short Stealth Bomber Test Hops

The controversial B-2 Stealth bomber was forced to cut short its fourth and fifth test flights because of low oil pressure and high winds, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

“The plane will not be flown again for at least five weeks while planned modifications are done to the plane and while there are some ground vibration tests done to the B-2,” Defense Department spokesman Pete Williams said.

The radar-evading B-2, the most expensive warplane ever built at $530 million a copy, is under close scrutiny by members of Congress upset over its hefty price tag.

Williams said the two test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., ended the fourth flight of the bomber 1 1/2 hours early Thursday after getting low oil pressure readings--the same problem that cut short its second flight Aug. 16.

“As with the second flight, the B-2 was landed early as a precaution,” Williams said. “The flight crew was in no danger.”

Williams and Air Force officials said the problem was found in a part called the airframe-mounted accessory drive or AMAD, a gearbox attached to the engine that powers part of the aircraft’s hydraulic and electrical generating system.

The falling oil pressure was “caused by a crack in the casing of the AMAD,” which was formed during the manufacturing process. New AMADs were produced and installed in the craft for Saturday’s fifth test flight.

But Saturday’s flight was “ended as a precaution after about an hour and 17 minutes because of gusty winds at the altitude at which the plane was flying,” Williams said.