The F-35 Just Catches on Fire Sometimes

And the Pentagon knew that for years

by KEVIN KNODELL & JOSEPH TREVITHICK

The F-35 Lightning II is supposed to be America’s primary warplane for the next several decades. But here’s one big problem. The F-35 can catch on fire … just while trying to take off.

That’s what happened on June 23, 2014, when a fire swept through an F-35 fighter jet taxiing on a runway at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. A new report by the U.S. Air Force’s Accident Investigation Board shines new light on what exactly happened with America’s hottest new warplane.

The military classifies the fire as a “Class A Mishap,” meaning an accident that causes death, permanent injury or costs $2 million or more in damage. According to the report, this particular incident cost the Department of Defense “in excess of” $50 million in damage.

And it could happen again.

Here’s how the Air Force investigators described the incident. The aircraft was scheduled to fly as part of a four plane training sortie. But prior to takeoff, two aircraft slated for the flight “had slight maintenance delays.”

Air Force officials decided to press on with the mission, sending out a two plane sortie instead. The “mishap aircraft” — as it’s referred to in the report — was to be the second ship of the two-ship formation.

But as the plane went down the runway, its engine stalled. Fire warning systems began blaring, the pilot shut down the engine and then bailed out of the cockpit. As he escaped, the flames quickly grew into an inferno.