US grounds entire F-35 fighter jet fleet after unexplained fire

An F-35A takes off from Eglin air force base, where the recent fire occurred. Photograph: Us Air Force/Reuters

The US military said it had grounded its entire fleet of 97 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets pending further inspection of the warplane's single Pratt & Whitney engine.

The Pentagon's F-35 program office, air force and navy issued directives on Thursday ordering the suspension of all F-35 flights after a fire on an air force F-35A jet at Eglin air force base in Florida on 23 June, according to statements by the Pentagon and the F-35 program office.

The Pentagon said US and industry officials had not pinpointed the cause of the fire, which occurred as a pilot was preparing for takeoff. The pilot was not injured.

The Pentagon said preparations were continuing for F-35 jets to take part in two UK air shows this month – the Royal International Air Tattoo and the Farnborough International Air Show – but a final decision would be made early next week. The fire has already derailed plans for an F-35 fly-past at the naming ceremony for Britain's new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, on Friday.

The 23 June incident was the latest to hit the Pentagon's costliest weapons program, the $398.6bn F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. An in-flight oil leak triggered mandatory fleetwide inspections of the jets last month.

"Additional inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered, and return to flight will be determined based on inspection results and analysis of engineering data," the US Defence Department said in a brief statement issued late on Thursday.

Pratt & Whitney said it was working closely with air force officials who are investigating the fire to determine the cause of the incident and inspect all engines in the fleet. A spokesman, Jay DeFrank, said it would be inappropriate to comment further since the incident was the subject of an investigation.

The Pentagon's F-35 program office said determining the cause of the fire and potential mitigating actions were its highest priority. It said impacts to flight test, training and operations of the radar-evading warplane were being assessed.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that US and British authorities were preparing directives ordering a mandatory engine inspection estimated to take about 90 minutes.

British officials remained part of the discussions with US officials and agreed with the US recommendation to ground the jets, pending further inspection results, the F-35 program office said.
The Guardian