2021-11-17 - British F-35B From HMS Queen Elizabeth Has Crashed In The Mediterranean Sea - Pilot Reportedly Ejected

[NLExile]

https://theaviationist.com/2021/11/17/b ... 35b-crash/
https://news.sky.com/story/pilot-ejects ... n-12470933

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British F-35B From HMS Queen Elizabeth Has Crashed In The Med Sea. Pilot Reportedly Ejected.

November 17, 2021 - DAVID CENCIOTTI

British F-35B crashed this morning during operations from HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

An F-35B, one of the eight British jets embarked aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth has crashed this morning around 10AM GMT as the aircraft carrier was conducting routine activities in the Mediterranean Sea.

The pilot successfully ejected from the F-35B and was safely rescued. According to a very short statement released by the UK Ministry of Defence Press Office, the pilot has already returned to the ship, while investigation in the incident has begun.

The jet involved in the incident was one of the eight F-35B of the RAF 617 Squadron from RAF Marham deployed aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth along with 10 F-35B of the U.S. Marine Corps VMFA-211 Wake Island Avengers, based at MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Yuma, Arizona. HMSQE is on her way back to the UK from a 28-week deployment – dubbed CSG21 (Carrier Strike Group 2021) – that brought the British aircraft carrier to the troubled waters of the Indo-Pacific region as the flagship of the largest naval and air task force under British command since the Falklands war.

Before reaching the South China Sea, the British aircraft carrier was quite busy: it took part in Exercise Joint Warrior/Strike Warrior off Scotland; then joined drills with NATO partners, including Falcon Strike 2021 in the Mediterranean Sea; and also supported counter-Daesh operations in Iraq and Syria. On the way back, the carrier will operate with allied nations in the Mediterranea Sea again.

The airframes known to have been operating aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth during her maiden deployment are ZM150/016; ZM154/020; ZM152/018; ZM151/017; ZM147/013; ZM153/019; ZM155/021 and ZM148/014.

The CSG21 deployment marked the first time UK fighter aircraft embarked on an operational aircraft carrier deployment since 2010, and was also the largest number of F-35Bs ever to sail the seas.

We will update the story as new details about the incident emerge.

[Stranger]

Looks like a rather expensive mistake...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... n-off.html

[Canberra TT.18]

Combination of sucked in engine and floating around in the Mediterranean doesn't make sense.

[frank kramer]

There's at least two engine covers on the main intakes, and possibly others for the swivelling "dustbin" intake for the F-35B.

[Key]

I can't imagine any jet starting up with an engine cover on without that being detected, if not before start-up then during - especially on a carrier with qualified deck crew everywhere, but also because of engine parameters during startup of course. For the cover(s) to have been on the plane when it took off, it would take some incredibly bad habit, like hanging them somewhere on the airframe after (partial) removal, instead of proper stowage.
I can imagine (a) loose cover(s) blowing over a deck, likely due to a combination of circumstances. Makes one really wonder what happened there, if this indeed contributed to the loss of the aircraft.

Erik

[Bennie]

I can't imagine any jet starting up with an engine cover on without that being detected, if not before start-up then during - especially on a carrier with qualified deck crew everywhere, but also because of engine parameters during startup of course. For the cover(s) to have been on the plane when it took off, it would take some incredibly bad habit, like hanging them somewhere on the airframe after (partial) removal, instead of proper stowage.
I can imagine (a) loose cover(s) blowing over a deck, likely due to a combination of circumstances. Makes one really wonder what happened there, if this indeed contributed to the loss of the aircraft.

Erik

+1! These covers are red for a reason and checklists are not only in place to sponsor paper factories...

[Canberra TT.18]

I can't imagine any jet starting up with an engine cover on without that being detected, if not before start-up then during - especially on a carrier with qualified deck crew everywhere, but also because of engine parameters during startup of course. For the cover(s) to have been on the plane when it took off, it would take some incredibly bad habit, like hanging them somewhere on the airframe after (partial) removal, instead of proper stowage.
I can imagine (a) loose cover(s) blowing over a deck, likely due to a combination of circumstances. Makes one really wonder what happened there, if this indeed contributed to the loss of the aircraft.

Erik

+1! These covers are red for a reason and checklists are not only in place to sponsor paper factories...

I totally agree. How is possible to take off when something is in the air intake or sucked in to the engine. If that's the case not only the ground crew screwed up...

But there is talk about a raincover. So could be other then the air intakes?

[Melchior Timmers]

Often it's a case of multiple things going wrong... The pilot assumes the engineer removed it, the engineer assumed the pilot removed it, the visibility was bad, they had an insomnia the night before etc etc etc...

[Richard from Rotterdam]

Rumoured to be ZM152.

[Le Addeur noir]

Well, it wasn't ZM148 coded 014, as this has flying on the 21st with VMFA-211 example modex CF-03 and 2 Italian ones, which were codes 4-03 and 32-14.

[Starfighter_F-104G]

21-11-2021
ZM148
ZM151
ZM154 back to EGYM 24-11-2021
ZM155

[Canberra TT.18]

https://mobile.twitter.com/sebh1981/sta ... 2018956295

[frank kramer]

Well, that graphically explains WHAT happened... Now for the HOW... And speaking of a VERY lucky pilot... could have ended dramatically if his chute had not caught the ski-jump.

[Key]

It also matches the alleged attempt to abort the take-off.

[Canberra TT.18]

It also matches the alleged attempt to abort the take-off.

With such a short take off there is not much room for correction.
It almost looks likes the Lightning falls over the bow as the speed is so low.
Very unlucky for the aircraft and a very lucky pilot.