F-22 pilot awarded Air Force’s top flight safety honor 

A F-22 pilot had to think quickly and work out a plan to save his plane af. After losing a landing wheel, Capt. Michael Cloninger of the 90th Fighter Squadron had to find a way to safely land the jet.

His successful belly landing of the F-22 earned him the Air Force’s top flight safety award. This week, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach presented him with the 2025 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy.

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. According to the Air Force, it “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.

The incident happened on Sept. 18, 2024 in the Central Command area of responsibility, according to the Air Force’s announcement. F-22s from the 90th Fighter Squadron rapidly deployed to the Middle East in August 2024, as part of a surge of air power amid threats in the region. While there, Cloninger was part of a flyover honoring the anniversary of World War II’s Battle of Britain. But shortly after takeoff, things quickly went wrong. The entire right main wheel of his jet had fallen off.

According to the Air Force, he and the rest of the formation realized the situation and broke off the flight, circling the airfield to figure out what to do. There was no established course of action for a situation like this, and landing presented serious risk to himself, the plane and others.

Cloninger flew around the airfield for an hour to burn off fuel and come up with a plan to make as safe of a belly landing as possible. According to the Air Force, he flew in on a shallow approach, landing on the runway and coming to a stop. The F-22 didn’t catch fire, and Cloninger was able to safely turn it off. Despite the risk, he was okay and the plane was able to be recovered.

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.”

Past recipients have pulled off recoveries of their aircraft after sudden and life-threatening malfunctions or failures. Last year, a test and instructor pilot received the award for stabilizing his plane after it malfunctioned. The year prior, an F-16 pilot in South Korea managed to safely land his jet at a Korean base after the engine failed. In another instance, a pilot made a belly landing with an A-10C Thunderbolt II after it quite literally started to fall apart during a training flight.

For his part, 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.”