A U.S. Air Force report concluded that the accident involving a $200 million F-35A fighter jet at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on January 28 was caused by a critical chain of failures initiated by the freezing of water-contaminated hydraulic fluid in the landing gear.
The water, which should not have been in the system, froze in the extreme -18°C temperatures, preventing the struts from fully extending. This caused the nose gear to twist and the main sensors to fail to extend, sending incorrect information to the onboard computer.
The pilot, noticing the problem after takeoff, held a 50-minute in-flight conference with five engineers from Lockheed Martin seeking a solution. Following their instructions, he performed two “touch-and-go” maneuvers in an attempt to unlock and center the nose landing gear. However, the measure proved catastrophic: the maneuvers worsened the problem, causing the ice to also prevent the main landing gear from extending.
The fatal error occurred when the “Weight on Wheels” (WoW) sensors, unable to extend due to the ice, falsely indicated that the jet was on the ground. This caused the automatic flight system (CLAW) to switch to “ground operation mode,” drastically reducing the aircraft’s control while it was still airborne.
With a completely uncontrollable jet, the pilot had no choice but to eject, escaping with minor injuries. The F-35 fell vertically and exploded, being completely destroyed.
The report notes that while the crew faced an unprecedented situation, the conference participants could have avoided the tragedy if they had consulted a Lockheed maintenance bulletin from April 2024, which warned of failures of these sensors in extreme climates. Beyond the technical factor, the investigation also identified contributing factors such as lack of supervision in hydraulic fluid storage and failure to follow proper maintenance procedures at the airbase.
Source: The War Zone / CNN | Photo: X @TheIntelFrog | This content was created with AI assistance and reviewed by the editorial team
F-35 mishap at Eielson AFB, AK.
Pilot appears to have ejected. https://t.co/7LpsoyJGKF pic.twitter.com/lNWIgqkVHV
— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) January 29, 2025
