Pentagon grounds global fleet of F-35s after crash

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon grounded the global fleet of F- 35 stealth fighters Thursday so that engineers could conduct urgent inspections following the first ever crash of the costliest plane in history.

Preliminary data from a Marine Corps F- 35B that was completely destroyed in a South Carolina crash last month showed a potential problem with a fuel tube, officials said.

“The US 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,” said Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for the F-35 programme.

He added that suspect fuel tubes would be removed and replaced. If good tubes are already installed, then those planes will be returned to operational status.

Inspections were expected to be completed within 24 to 48 hours.

According to Pentagon figures, 320 F- 35s have been delivered globally, mainly to the US but also Israel and Britain, as well as other partner countries.

Britain said the Pentagon measure did not affect all of its F35s, and that some flying missions had been ‘paused’, not grounded.

“F- 35 flight trials from the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth are continuing and the program remains on schedule to provide our armed forces with a game- changing capability,” a British defense ministry spokesman said.

The Israeli military said it was taking additional precautions and conducting tests on its version of the F- 35, known as the F- 35I.

But if the planes are ‘required for operational action, the F- 35I aircraft are ready and prepared’, a statement read.

On Sept 28, a Marine Corps F-35 crashed in South Carolina. The pilot survived after ejecting.

The incident occurred only one day after the US military first used the F- 35 in combat, when Marine Corps jets hit Taliban targets in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Defense News reported that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had ordered the Air Force and Navy to make 80 per cent of the fleet of key fighters, including the F-35, mission capable within a year.

The order sent ripples through the Pentagon, where officials have for years bemoaned a general lack of readiness for key equipment. — AFP

First responders and residents walk along a main street following Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida, US. — Reuters photo

This file photo shows an Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva. — AFP photo