The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet hit the 100,000 flight hours mark without a single crash, a significant milestone for a major aircraft program. Although the F-35 has had three major fires, including one in midair, no planes have been lost in collisions with the ground, and there have been zero deaths and only one injury. This is in marked contrast to other fighters, particularly those during the Cold War, that had much, much higher accident rates.

According to a press release sent out by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 fleet "recently exceeded 100,000 flight hours." That's a milestone at which aircraft accidents and losses begin to be measured, but the F-35 really hasn't had that many.

The F-35 fleet has had three "Class A" incidents, defined by the Department of Defense as accidents involving $2,000,000 or more in damage to the aircraft and loss of life or permanent disability to the aircrew. In 2014, an F-35A caught fire preparing for takeoff at Eglin Air Force Base . The pilot was able to shut the aircraft down and escape unharmed. In September 2016, another F-35A caught fire after tailwinds pushes hot air into the aircraft's power pack. In that incident, the pilot sustained burns to his neck, head, and face. In November 2016, a Marine Corps F-35B caught fire in midair but the pilot was able to land the aircraft.

Air Force F-35A damaged in 2014 fire at Eglin Air Force Base. U.S. Air Force via Alert5.

Among currently flying U.S. Military aircraft, the Air Force's F-15 Eagle has a lifetime Class A accident rate of 2.36 per 100,000 hours of flight, with a spike early in the Eagle's flying career and a relatively low accident rate 10-30 years after reaching operational status. The F-22 Raptor has a relatively high rate at 5.49 per 100,000 hours.

Among the aircraft the F-35 is meant to replace, the new fighter's safety record is par for the course or an improvement. The Navy's F/A-18 Hornet averaged approximately 2.84 Class As per 100,000 hours between 1990 and 2013, while the F-16 has a lifetime Class A rate of 3.45 per 100,000 hours. In 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that the lifetime Class A rate for the AV-8B Harrier was 11.44 per 100,000 hours.

In the early years of supersonic flight, Class A incident rates were far, far worse than what they are today. During the 1960s, the Air Force's F-100 Super Sabre fighter had an average of 21 Class A mishaps per 100,000 hours, and out of 2,294 Super Sabres bought by the Air Force, 889 were lost to accidents. According to an FAA publication on high performance aircraft , "in 1958 alone there were 116 F-100 accidents, which killed 47 pilots."

U.S. Air Force F-100 Super Sabre fighter. ullstein bild Getty Images

The most dangerous fighter of the post World War II era may have been the F-104G Starfighter. A variant of the F-104 flown by the West German Air Force, it racked up an appalling 139 accidents per 100,000 flying hours . The Luftwaffe lost 30 percent of its Starfighters to accidents.

Compared to Cold War figures, the F-35 is a very safe aircraft. Compared to relatively newer planes it plans to replace, it is as safe as or safer. Almost all high performance fighter aircraft lose an aircraft or two during the developmental phase. What's remarkable about the F-35 is that no confirmed cases of planes have been lost to fires, crashes, or any other cause—period. (The 2014 fire at Eglin Air Force Base caused an estimated $50 million in damage, and there are conflicting reports as to whether the plane was written off as a total loss or not.)

Three Class A incidents in 100,000 hours of flight actually isn't a bad number at all, especially for an aircraft still in development—most aircraft experience a spike in accidents early in their careers, as design or quality control problems surface. Accident rates tend to drop as these problems are ironed out. If the F-35's low accident rate holds, it could be one of the safest fighters in U.S. military history.

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