Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

Crosspost:

From Aviation Safety Network:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/388482

"A Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 21 near Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ/KABQ), New Mexico. The pilot ejected and was hospitalized with serious injuries, but in stable condition.

"It was a developmental F-35B model on a delivery flight [to KEDW] by Lockheed Martin.
"Possible candidate is TR3 & Bk4 test aircraft Bu 170052, c/n BF-159."
 
aim9xray said:
Crosspost:

From Aviation Safety Network:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/388482

"A Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 21 near Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ/KABQ), New Mexico. The pilot ejected and was hospitalized with serious injuries, but in stable condition.

"It was a developmental F-35B model on a delivery flight [to KEDW] by Lockheed Martin.
"Possible candidate is TR3 & Bk4 test aircraft Bu 170052, c/n BF-159."
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So, lifted off in STOL mode and crashed just after. Probably an automatic ejection. Let´s hope that this was not a factor in the crash.
We can see that the a/c didn´t clear the hill at the end of the runway (the picture in the link are the best to see that).

Early news reported a female pilot, injured. If that is accurate, It would be interesting to follow the deliberation around her form factor regarding (uncommanded?) ejection safety.
 
TomcatViP said:
So, lifted off in STOL mode and crashed just after. Probably an automatic ejection. Let´s hope that this was not a factor in the crash.
We can see that the a/c didn´t clear the hill at the end of the runway (the picture in the link are the best to see that).

Early news reported a female pilot, injured. If that is accurate, It would be interesting to follow the deliberation around her form factor regarding (uncommanded?) ejection safety.
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I see the picture with the fan door open. But I can't understand why they would be doing an STO on a 10,000-foot runway, especially with a long flight ahead of them (sounds like it was supposed to be direct from ABQ/Kirtland AFB to Edwards).
 
Bruno Anthony said:
My mistake on lack of clarity I guess.
Post in thread 'Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)'
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...ii-joint-strike-fighter-jsf.17732/post-680067

Competition after competition of static RCS testing the f-35 won hands down. In terms of aeronautical performance, the f-35 lost at engine start up.
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Dead is dead. The F-104 Starfighter would out run any fighter on the market today. Does that mean they're all junk?
 
TomS said:
I have this weird thought that maybe the fan door deployed in error (either mechanical fault or operator error). But it's far too early to speculate.
Click to expand...
The image shows the aircraft in full STOVL mode, the nozzle is down and control surfaces configured.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1795685392265691603
View: https://x.com/clashreport/status/1795685392265691603

Its possible the aircraft entered this mode un-commanded, but this doesn't look like something as simple as a single failure of the door.
 
Yes, this is the picture we discussed yesterday. You can see, as you said that both the nozzle is rotated and the ramp opened... but also that the aircraft is past the paved runway end.

Interestingly also, the series of shots suggest an attempt to turn port after liftoff.
 
MrTopaz said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1795552433482960948
View: https://x.com/thenewarea51/status/1795552433482960948?s=46


I don’t know if the link will go through, and I don’t know if this guy is legit, or a loon, and I don’t know if the source is legit, but the ATC recordings in his thread make it look like the pilot was trying to put on a show.
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Sounds plausible but it was reported that the mishap pilot is a woman and that voice talking about an STO sure sounded like a man.
 
It´s a civilian flight. Aren´t they supposed to follow noise abatement departure procedure too?
Would that be possible that the pilot didn´t realize that he/she had selected STOL mode? Then a STOL takeoff attempt without afterburner would lead to that scenario...
[/conjunctural]
 
TomcatViP said:
It´s a civilian flight. Aren´t they supposed to follow noise abatement departure procedure too?
Would that be possible that the pilot didn´t realize that he/she had selected STOL mode? Then a STOL takeoff attempt without afterburner would lead to that scenario...
[/conjunctural]
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Not really a civilian aircraft. Lockheed has clarified that this was a government aircraft (accepted via a DD-250 in September 2023) with a government pilot from the Defense Contract Management Agency. They say it was one of the TR-2 evaluation aircraft that had been at Fort Worth for some modifications and was flying back to Edwards:

https://breakingdefense.com/2024/05...co-pilot-ejects-safely-but-sustains-injuries/"
TomS said:
Sounds plausible but it was reported that the mishap pilot is a woman and that voice talking about an STO sure sounded like a man.
Click to expand...

OK, digging back though the source articles, the only thing I see stating it was a female pilot is Tomcat's initial post. Aside from that, I see no identifying info on the pilot, and I am inclined to guess that the recording talking about doing an STO really is of the (male) pilot. Below is a more direct link to the snippet of ATC comms where he talks about wanting to do an STO, and the controller is also (I think) clearing him for a unrestricted climb. Which kinda does sound like he was setting up for an airshow departure.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1795649370643103794
View: https://twitter.com/thenewarea51/status/1795649370643103794
 
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TomS said:
Not really a civilian aircraft. Lockheed has clarified that this was a government aircraft (accepted via a DD-250 in September 2023) with a government pilot from the Defense Contract Management Agency.
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And the F-35 JPO has finally gotten around to a statement, confirming that this was actually a USAF pilot flying the aircraft for the DCMA.

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-pilot-f-35b-crash-kirtland/
They haven't yet confirmed that this was a TR-3 test aircraft, but it seems likely.
 
That is the first time that the Lift Fan clutch disengaging in the F-35B since it entered service, it is a shame that it was testing for the TR-3. They had better check all clutches in the F-35Bs just in case.
 
FighterJock said:
That is the first time that the Lift Fan clutch disengaging in the F-35B since it entered service, it is a shame that it was testing for the TR-3. They had better check all clutches in the F-35Bs just in case.
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I doubt that, there was another -B loss caught completely on video that had the plane in question start going down at the nose and rise at the tail. Which is consistent with a loss of thrust in the Lift Fan and less power being taken out in the turbines aft.
 
@TomS : the suspicion for having a female pilot comes from KOB network station live feed reporting it as a She. The feed link is in the initial post.
 
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FighterJock said:
That is the first time that the Lift Fan clutch disengaging in the F-35B since it entered service, it is a shame that it was testing for the TR-3. They had better check all clutches in the F-35Bs just in case.
Click to expand...
That is somewhat surprising, considering powerful clutches (such as the ones found in dragsters) have a lifetime of less than a dozen uses. But I thought that the clutch welding itself together is just as a common failure mode?
 
TomcatViP said:
@TomS : the suspicion for having a female pilot comes from KOB network station live feed reporting it as a She. The feed link is in the initial post.
Click to expand...

I can't find that specific bit now, but I'll take your word for it. Still, it seems to be an error in their reporting.
 
NMaude said:
Hasn't there been reliability problems with the lift-fan clutch in the past?
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It took a lot of R&D to get working right in the first place, but I'm only personally aware of one other crash that could potentially be attributable to a LiftFan or clutch failure.

As I understand it, the clutch is 50% carbon fiber brakes and 50% Top Fuel dragster clutch.
 
NMaude said:
Does the F-35B have an auto-eject mode just like the long retired Yak-38 Forger?
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Yes. It's linked to the conversion switch. On landing, the conversion switch immediately arms the auto-eject. When the pilot commands conversion to conventional mode after an STO, I'd guess that disarming the auto-eject is part of that sequence, probably once the main nozzle is the sole source of thrust and the doors are all closed. Once armed, the auto-eject is triggered by pitch and roll limits.
 
NMaude said:
Frequent patches? Are you sure Microsoft isn't involved in the software's development;):D?
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It is worth pointing out that more and more military systems are software as a service/subscription rather like the commercial model. You do not buy the program; you rent the services for a period of years. Which quite honestly is just another version of vender lock that has plagued the DoD for decades anyway.

The SDA constellation is contracted to literally seven known companies and the CCA seems likely to pick a new contractor every couple years, while owning the proprietary software across all platforms. So at least some of the rapid procurement offices are learning the lesson.
 
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