F-35 CRASHES. ENTIRE FLEET GROUNDED.
Just when the JSF program is starting to put its troubled past behind it, another incident occurs. On September 29th, a USMC F-35B crashed in South Carolina . Thankfully, the pilot ejected safely and no lives were lost. For more details on the incident, check out Foxtrot Alpha . While the JSF is certainly no stranger to its share of incidents , this is the first time one of the aircraft has been lost due to a crash. After a brief investigation, the Pentagon has ordered the entire F-35 fleet to be grounded . This is the second time the entire fleet has been grounded; the first grounding was the result of " engine rubbing " that caused a spontaneous engine fire. Despite its well-publicized incidents and groundings, the F-35 remains a relatively safe plane . Its been flying over twelve years, with total flight hours in the hundreds of thousands, and over 320 airframes built. Not a single fatality has been reported so far. Many other modern fighters canno