WASHINGTON -The Pentagon grounded the global fleet of F-35 stealthfighters on Thursday, as a result of the first ever crash of the costliestplane in history.
A Marine Corps F-35B was completely destroyed in a crash during training inSouth Carolina on September 28. The pilot safely ejected.
According to Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for the F-35 program, the US andits international partners — including Britain and Israel — havetemporarily suspended F-35 flight operations for a fleet-wide inspection ofa fuel tube within the engine on all F-35 aircraft.
“The action to perform the inspection is driven from initial data from theongoing investigation of the F-35B that crashed in the vicinity ofBeaufort, South Carolina,” DellaVedova said in a statement.
He added that suspect fuel tubes would be removed and replaced. If goodtubes are already installed, then those planes would be returned tooperational status.
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Inspections were expected to be completed within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Launched in the early 1990s, the F-35 program is considered the mostexpensive weapons system in US history, with an estimated cost of some $400billion and a goal to produce 2,500 aircraft in the coming years. – APP/AFP
