How One Bird Caused over $2 Million Damage to an F-35

By U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King - This Image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 130814-F-OC707-008 (next).This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Li
July 13, 2019 Topic: Security Region: Americas Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: Bird StrikeF-35BirdsF-35 CrashAirplane AccidentStealth

How One Bird Caused over $2 Million Damage to an F-35

Someone call Alfred Hitchcock.

by Dario Leone
 

The F-35B bird strike is USMC second Class A mishap in less than one week.

On May 7 a U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) F-35B with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing operating out of Iwakuni, Japan had a bird strike.

 

The F-35B was forced to abort the take-off, according to Major Eric Flanagan, a spokesman for 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

The aircraft “safely taxied off the runway,” but initial assessments indicated the high-tech stealth fighter suffered more than $2 million in damages, making it a Class A mishap, Flanagan told Marine Corps Times in an emailed statement.

The incident is currently under investigation and a complete damage assessment is underway.

The F-35B bird strike is USMC second Class A mishap in less than one week.

On May 3 a Marine F/A-18 out of Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, made an emergency landing due to an engine bay fire.

No one was injured in the F/A-18 incident.

The Navy classifies a Class A mishap as an accident resulting in $2 million or more in damages or an incident that results in death or total disability.

This article by Dario Leone originally appeared on The Aviation Geek Club in 2019.

Image: Wikimedia