The U.S. military has grounded its fleet of F-35s after one of the planes was damaged in a runway fire last month, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement that initial findings in the investigation into the fire have led the military to ground the fleet and order more inspections of the jets. He said the root cause of the fire is still under investigation.
'Defense Department leadership supports this prudent approach,' Kirby said.
The investigation was launched after a F-35 was damaged in a 'significant' fire on the runway at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on June 23, the Air Force Times reported. The fire originated in the tail section of the plane as the pilot was conducting a training exercise.
Neither the pilot nor anyone else was injured, the Air Force Times reported.
Entities 0 Name: Air Force Times Count: 2 1 Name: Defense Department Count: 1 2 Name: Kirby Count: 1 3 Name: U.S. Count: 1 4 Name: Florida Count: 1 5 Name: John Kirby Count: 1 6 Name: Pentagon Press Count: 1 7 Name: Eglin Air Force Base Count: 1 8 Name: Pentagon Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1qpUaoY Title: All US and UK F-35s Are Being Grounded (Again) Because of Engine Fires Description: Military officials from both the US and UK have been forced to ground each and every F-35 in their fleets so that their engines can be inspected -following another fire last week. By our count, this will be the eighth time the entire fleet has had to be been grounded-though it's hard to keep accurate tallies given it happens practically all the time.
