An F-22 pilot had to think quickly and work out a plan to save his plane and himself after his jet’s right wheel assembly broke off seconds into what was supposed to be a simple ceremonial flight. After an hour of preparing the plane and considering alternatives, the pilot brought the $150 million plane in for a belly landing to defuse the 2024 emergency.

The cool performance earned Capt. Michael Cloninger, an F-22 pilot in the 90th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, the Air Force’s 2025 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy, the service’s top flight safety award. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach presented Cloninger with the trophy at a ceremony last week.

The incident occurred seconds after Cloninger had lifted off for a Sept. 18, 2024, flight. After just seconds in the air, in the dry language of the Air Force release on the flight, “the right main wheel assembly departed the aircraft.”

The flight was not a combat sortie, but a ceremonial flyover honoring the anniversary of World War II’s Battle of Britain, officials said. Air Force officials did not specify where the flight occurred, noting only that it was in the “Central Command area of responsibility.” Local news reports from late 2024 spotted the 90th coming and going at Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath, England, during a rapid deployment to the Middle East.

According to the Air Force, Cloninger and the rest of the flight realized the situation, cancelled the planned flyby, and began circling the airfield while considering their options. Faced with “no established written procedure for this scenario,” according to the release, Cloninger circled for an hour to burn off fuel, then put the jet into a shallow approach, landing on the runway and skidding to a stop.

The F-22 didn’t catch fire, and Cloninger was able to safely power it down.

At the ceremony, Cloninger thanked his aircrew for helping him pull off the safe landing.

“Without my teammates assisting with communication and walking through the checklists, I truly believe I wouldn’t be standing here today,” Cloninger said. “I owe more than this award to them — this recognition is a testament to the teamwork that helped us successfully manage the emergency.”

Wilsback praised Cloninger’s “extraordinary airmanship” in the situation, saying the pilot was able to adapt when the situation rapidly changed.

“You faced an emergency you could not see with no warning from your aircraft, while carrying a full combat load thousands of miles from home,” he said. “You remained disciplined. You trusted your training, listened to your teammates, and made sound decisions. When it was time to land, you flew the aircraft all the way through the emergency. That is what we expect from American Airmen.”

Award named for pilot lost in 1955

The award is named for Air Force 1st Lt. Koren Kolligian Jr., who vanished in 1955 off the coast of California while flying a T-33. The award “recognizes outstanding feats of airmanship by aircrew members who by extraordinary skill, exceptional alertness, ingenuity, or proficiency, averted accidents or minimized the seriousness of the accidents in terms of injury, loss of life, aircraft damage, or property damage.”

It’s also the only one personally presented by the Air Force Chief of Staff.

Several past recipients have pulled off recoveries of their aircraft after sudden and life-threatening malfunctions or failures. In 2024, a test and instructor pilot received the award for stabilizing his plane after it malfunctioned.

The year prior, an F-16 pilot in Soutåh Korea managed to safely land his jet at a Korean base after the engine failed. In another instance, a pilot made a belly landing in an A-10  after the plane started to fall apart during a training flight.

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