Hawai'i's F-15 Eagle fighters have been grounded for a second time this month because of ongoing Air Force concern over structural components in a Missouri Air National Guard jet that crashed on Nov. 2.

The Air Force yesterday said it had directed a fleetwide reinspection of all F-15 A through D model aircraft.

The grounding affects more than 450 of the aircraft worldwide.

The Hawai'i Air National Guard has 18 of the twin-tail fighters, which serve in a homeland defense role for the state. The aircraft also are available for worldwide taskings.

In the interim, Hawai'i has been covered by F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Minnesota Air National Guard, said Capt. Jeff Hickman, a Hawai'i National Guard spokesman.

"As soon as the grounding occurred on (Nov. 3), they started the process to find a replacement aircraft," Hickman said.

Because of security reasons, Hickman couldn't say how many F-16s are in Hawai'i from Minnesota's 148th Fighter Wing though he did say there are enough.

The aircraft are expected to remain in Hawai'i until the F-15s are flying again.

The Air Force last week returned nearly 700 F-15 fighter jets to service after the Nov. 2 crash in Missouri led to a grounding of the fleet.

A newer version, the F-15E Strike Eagle, continues to fly.

Hawai'i has A, B, and C models that are on average 25 years old, officials said.

The latest stand-down follows Nov. 27 findings from the investigation of the Nov. 2 crash.

A 10-year veteran of the Missouri Air National Guard ejected from an F-15C when it crashed in rural Dent County, Mo., on private property surrounded by national forest.

The pilot suffered a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and minor cuts.

The single-seat plane, a 1980 model worth $40 million, was assigned to the 131st Fighter Wing at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Metallurgical analysis of the crashed aircraft drew attention to the upper longerons near the canopy.

The Air Force said the longerons, which are major structural components that run the length of the aircraft on its side, appeared to have cracked and failed.

Although the longeron area was covered under the first inspection period, technical experts are now recommending a specific inspection technique for the suspect area, the Air Force said.

Capt. Kristy Miller, a Pacific Air Forces spokeswoman, said the stand-down will remain in effect pending the completion of the required inspections and repairs.

"Currently there is no exact length of time associated with these inspections," she said.

"Previous inspections have taken up to 15 hours per aircraft to complete."

In addition to the Hickam aircraft, Pacific Air Forces has 27 F-15 C and D models at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, and 57 C and D model F-15s at Kadena Air Force Base in Japan.

The F-15s in Hawai'i were deployed to Iraq in 2000 for no-fly-zone duty and patrolled the skies above Honolulu after the 9/11 attacks.

The aircraft will be replaced by F-22A Raptors with stealth technology starting in 2011.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.