Trouble with the F-35 fighter jet’s front landing gear has re-emerged, leading on Wednesday to an unseemly incident that left one aircraft looking a little bit glum.
As the F-35A was forced to land after an unspecified midair emergency, the front landing gear collapsed, leaving the jet face-down on the runway, Defense News reported.
Local media were able to capture a photo of the situation:
UPDATE: Investigation underway into F-35 mishap; plane grounded https://t.co/rrTiZE9LJC #F35 #EglinAFB #LockheedMartin
— nwfdailynews (@nwfdailynews) August 23, 2018
F-35s have had issues with front landing gear in the past, with US Navy pilots complaining last year that the aircraft would bob up and down when being launched from carriers. The issue was so bad that pilots said they could not read instruments and they experienced pain from the movement.
The US Air Force has launched an investigation into Wednesday’s mishap.
Douglas Taylor-Munro , I wonder where you guys get the designation Su-52. It’s a Su-57! Further, 1.2b = 1,200m. I think you guys probably are talking about 120m instead
Eeeh, and where’s the photo?
The aircraft is not heavier than most planes, it utilizes a lift generating body design and can carry more than a fully loaded f18 and has better flight characteristics while fully loaded than the j20, su 35, or su52.
The F35 is 80 million per plane, i don’t know where you got 1.2 billion per plane, and the j20 is a piece of shit with an underpowered engine and is still not in production or operation, it also is only stealth from directly in the front. Look up info about both rather than just blindly rooting for one with no regard for facts.
Manueverability and speed were attributes of the last decades. The F-35 had electronic supremacy. How can u compare russian and chinese "fail" planes to a multninational cutting edge project that is too complex and expensive to be built from the absolute military superpower in the world with a budget 10x or 100x the russian or chinese budget…
If it were "fat and heavy" it could not hover or take off vertically.
Landing gear made in China.
Favorite position for them
F-35 is a fat plane. Normal landing gear is inadequate. Upsize the landing gear.