The US has actively been promoting exports of its fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. According to the news outlet Hotcars, US aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin has thus far delivered about 200 F-35s to the air forces and navies of other countries, including the UK's Royal Air Force. Another 600 export orders are reportedly still on the Pentagon's table.
Meanwhile, the technical problems dogging the warplane show no sign of abating, with officials confirming on Wednesday that a US Air Force (USAF) F-35 fighter jet crashed at the end of a runway near Salt Lake City in Utah. The 388th Fighter Wing tweeted that a pilot had been able to eject himself from the $100 million-plus aircraft before it crash-landed.
The crash became the latest in a series of such incidents that have occurred over the past several years. Here’s an insight into some of the incidents pertaining to what is now believed to be the most expensive fighter jet in production.
'Landing Mishap'
In January 2022, an F-35C Lightning II fighter suffered "a landing mishap" on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea.
The US Navy said at the time that the incident left seven sailors injured, while the pilot safely ejected and was later recovered. In March, the navy announced that it had retrieved the stealth fighter jet from a depth of 12,400 feet (3,780 meters) using a remotely operated vehicle.
Incident on HMS Queen Elizabeth
Another F-35 launched from the HMS Queen Elizabeth crashed in November 2021, hitting the Mediterranean Sea. According to the UK MoD, the pilot was forced to eject amid a routine flying operation.
It was one of 24 F-35 jets purchased by the UK at the moment, and it was the first crash of the model within the Royal Air Force.
Collision With Flying Tanker
In October 2020, a Marine F-35B aircraft crashed near Naval Air Facility El Centro, California after an air collision with the US transport-tanker aircraft KC-130J. The incident took place when the KC-130J was conducting a mid-air refueling of the F-35B.
The F-35B pilot successfully ejected from the plane, and the KC-130J made an emergency landing near California’s Thermal community. No one was hurt in the collision, according to the Marine Corps.
Post-Landing Crash
In May 2020, a US Air Force F-35A crashed on landing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, military officials said at the time, adding that during the accident, the pilot was participating in a routine night training sortie.
According to the USAF, the pilot and the fighter jet’s systems were both responsible for the incident.
A subsequent Air Force probe found that excessive landing speed was the main cause of the F-35A crash, even though faulty flight control logic, issues with the helmet-mounted display, the warplane’s oxygen system, and ineffective simulator training all contributed to the mishap.
Catastrophe Over Pacific
Another crash occurred in April 2019 in Japan: F-35А of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force crashed into the sea off Aomori prefecture, some 135 kilometers from the island of Honshu. Some debris, including fragments of the jet's tail were discovered by the rescue mission.
The pilot, Major Akinori Hosomi, died in the incident, and according to Tokyo, the incident was caused by his error.
First-Ever USAF F-35 Crash
September 2018 saw the US military suffer its first major crash of an F-35 aircraft in the 17-year history of the fifth-generation jet program.
The incident involving the F-35B Lightning II occurred outside Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina, according to USAF officials, who added that the fighter jet crashed during a regular training mission.
“The US Marine pilot safely ejected from the single-seat aircraft and is currently being evaluated by medical personnel. There were no civilian injuries,” they said in a statement at the time.
The US military then grounded its entire fleet of F-35 stealth fighters due to the incident, with the cause of the crash later determined to be a defective fuel tube.
“An investigation determined a manufacturing defect caused an engine fuel tube to rupture during flight, resulting in a loss of power to the engine,” the US’ Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report issued in 2019.
Landing Gear Collapse
The September 2018 incident was preceded by a mishap in August of that year, when a mid-air emergency forced an USAF F-35A to return to Eglin Air Force Base, where the plane’s nose landing gear collapsed, prompting the plane to face down on the runway.
The USAF said that fire crews responded immediately, and the pilot of the plane assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron, suffered no injuries.