09 Jun 2015
The engine
stall and fire that forced a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II pilot to abort
his takeoff and abandon the aircraft on the runway on June 3 last year has been
traced to a turbine rotor arm.
A US Air
Force 58th Fighter Squadron F-35 suffered a stall and fire on
takeoff from Eglin Air Force Base, which forced the pilot to bring the aircraft
to a stop and exit over the side of the cockpit. Emergency crews responded and
extinguished the fire before it could destroy the aircraft, although it will
now be dismantled for parts.
An Air
Education and Training Command Accident Investigation Board has determined that
the engine’s third stage turbine rotor forward arm, carrying the turbine
blades, failed. Parts were ejected through the upper portion of the aircraft
fuselage, severing internal fuel and hydraulic lines and allowing fuel and
hydraulic fluid to catch fire. The aft two thirds of the aircraft sustained
significant fire damage.
The total
cost of the damage has yet to be determined, but the US Air Force system of
accident damage assessment puts the incident in the “in excess of $50 million”.
