Japan confirms crash of F-35A Fighter; pilot still missing

April 10, 2019

Tokyo--A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-35A fighter jet that went missing during an exercise over the Pacific Ocean Tuesday night has been confirmed to have crashed into the ocean, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Pieces seen to be from the vertical tails of the cutting-edge stealth fighter jet were recovered from waters near where the aircraft disappeared from radar and were later confirmed as belonging to the missing jet, according to the ministry.

A search is underway for the pilot, a major in his 40s, as well as the rest of the aircraft. The pilot had declared an end to the exercise just before the ASDF lost contact with the fighter.

The pilot may have faced some problems and failed to eject before the crash, informed sources said.

The pilot did not make a pre-ejection declaration, and no signal for rescue has been detected, although such a signal is sent automatically if the pilot ejects, according to the sources.

The jet, together with three other F-35As, took off from the ASDF's Misawa base in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, for a nighttime training flight around 7 p.m. Tuesday (10 a.m. GMT).

About 25 minutes later, right after the pilot said the training was to end, the jet disappeared from radar over the Pacific Ocean about 135 kilometers east of the Misawa base.

The major aboard the missing fighter was a veteran pilot with some 3,200 flight hours. His F-35A flight hours totaled about 60 hours.

The ministry has set up an accident investigation board, hearing from the pilots of the three other jets taking part in the exercise, aiming to uncover details of what happened to the crashed fighter.

The jet was the first Japanese-made F-35A assembled by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. <7011>. The ministry purchased it for some 14 billion yen in fiscal 2013 and deployed it at the Misawa base in May 2018.

The Japanese government has a plan to procure more F-35 fighters to replace outdated F-15 jets, aiming to eventually increase its F-35 fleet to 147.

The United States and European countries are also stepping up the deployment of F-35s. With no previous crash record for F-35As, observers suggest the latest accident may impact some countries' procurement plans.

A total of 13 F-35As were deployed at the Misawa base. The remaining 12 will be grounded for the time being.

"We'll continue to do our best in the rescue operations," Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters. "Although no damage to civilians has been confirmed, I'd like to apologize deeply for causing anxiety to local residents." Jiji Press