Another F-35A fighter jet - touted as the future of military aviation - caught fire during an exercise at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, the US Air Force has confirmed.
An investigation has been launched into what caused the fire, which was located in "the aft section of the aircraft," according to a statement from the Air Force. The jet was one of seven F-35As dispatched from Luke AFB, one of the bases responsible for joint strike fighter pilot instruction, as part of surface-to-air training at Mountain Home between September 10 and 24.
No injuries have been reported, but questions are being raised as to whether the fire may have originated in the F-35's F135 engine, manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, as was the case in 2014.
A 2015 report into a fire that destroyed an F-35A Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in June 2014, which resulted in the grounding of the entire fleet of the fifth generation fighter jet for almost a month, found the fire was caused by “catastrophic engine failure.” |