https://taskandpurpose.com/pentagon-f35 ... t=tp-shareUS military grounds all F-35 jets
4 minutes ago
The US military has grounded its entire fleet of F-35 fighter jets
in the wake of a crash in South Carolina last month.
Inspections are to be carried out on faulty fuel tubes.
An official report questioned earlier this year
whether the F-35 was ready for combat after dozens of faults were found.
https://taskandpurpose.com/pentagon-f35-grounded/
Pentagon Orders Entire F-35 Fleet Grounded
By James Clark
on October 11, 2018
The Pentagon has ordered its entire fleet of F-35 fighters to be grounded
in the wake of a Marine F-35B crash in South Carolina last month.
All variants of the jet,
including the
Air Force ‘A’ version and
Navy ‘C’ version,
are included, according to Lee Hudson of Aviation Week.
Flight operations for the strike fighter have been temporarily suspended
as the military conducts a fleet-wide inspection of a fuel tube
within the engines of all F-35 aircraft.
The decision to inspect the aircraft fuel tubes
stemmed from an ongoing investigation into the F-35B crash
that occurred shortly after a takeoff
from the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina on Sept. 28.
Here’s the full statement from JPO:
The U.S. Services and international partners
have temporarily suspended F-35 flight operations
while the enterprise conducts a fleet-wide inspection
of a fuel tube within the engine on all F-35 aircraft.
If suspect fuel tubes are installed,
the part will be removed and replaced.
If known good fuel tubes are already installed,
then those aircraft will be returned to flight status.
Inspections are expected to be completed within the next 24 to 48 hours.
The action to perform the inspection is driven
from initial data from the ongoing investigation
of the F-35B that crashed in the vicinity of Beaufort, South Carolina on 28 September.
The aircraft mishap board is continuing its work and
the U.S. Marine Corps will provide additional information when it becomes available.
https://taskandpurpose.com/pentagon-f35-grounded/