Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

F-35 Has Crashed In Florida, Second Aircraft Loss For Eglin Air Force Base In Five Days
The War Zone ^ | 5/20/20 | Tyler Rogoway

Posted on 05/20/2020 4:40:34 AM PDT by Yo-Yo

The aircraft was on a routine night training mission when the incident occurred.

BY TYLER ROGOWAY MAY 20, 2020

THE WAR ZONE

Details remain scarce at this time, but an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that was flying out of Eglin AFB, which is located on the Florida panhandle, has crashed. Thankfully, the pilot was able to eject and is safe. The incident occurred at around 9:30 pm local time and the F-35A was on a routine night training mission.

This is the second crash of an aircraft operating out of the base in less than a week, with an F-22 Raptor going down on Friday, May 15th. Thankfully, in that incident, the pilot was also able to eject and survive the mishap. If the F-35 is destroyed, it would be the third crash of an F-35 that resulted in a total write-off of the airframe.

Eglin AFB is home to a large number of aircraft. It is a major training base for F-35, and more recently, F-22 aircraft, the latter of which were displaced after Hurricane Michael ravaged nearby Tyndall AFB. Eglin AFB has myriad other missions, including being the home of weapons development for the Air Force's tactical aircraft communities and supporting other developmental missions. The nearby Eglin Range Complex hosts all types of training and weapons development activities, among other events. Duke Field lies deep within in it, and Hurlburt Field, home of Air Force Special Operations Command's headquarters, as well as the Navy's primary air training base of Naval Air Station Pensacola, sit very close by. As such, the base sees many types of aircraft frequent its expansive aprons and runways and the nearby ranges.

We will update this story as more information comes available.


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aerospace; f35; usaf
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-35 next last
When B-26s were stationed at MacDill for training during WWII, the saying was "one a day in Tampa Bay."
1 posted on 05/20/2020 4:40:34 AM PDT by Yo-Yo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

Quite sad - almost as bad as the F-22 that went down last week.


2 posted on 05/20/2020 4:42:34 AM PDT by spetznaz (Nuclear-tipped Ballistic Missiles: The Ultimate Phallic Symbol)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

Chinese manufacture grade parts or maintenance screw up? Do we need the answers? Do we want the answers?


3 posted on 05/20/2020 4:43:24 AM PDT by Bayard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

Hopefully there’s no trend here. Even in peace time, military operations can be very dangerous.

Training adds an element of this also.

Along the way to becoming competent in an aircraft you first start in the incompetent stage. Things can go wrong during this transition.


4 posted on 05/20/2020 4:46:33 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (The prisons do not fill themselves. Get moving, Barr!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

IF the F-35 was destroyed? If the pilot ejected the jet definitely didn’t land safely. I saw an F-105 Thunder Chief crash two blocks from my grade school in Vegas in 64. The pilot stayed with the jet and his last words were “I can’t hit the school”. I was so close I saw him go into crash position. Unfortunately it was a huge fireball and they had the whole neighborhood closed off looking for unexploded munitions for months. The pilot was a hero.


5 posted on 05/20/2020 4:52:41 AM PDT by HighSierra5
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

Military aviation is an inherently risky endeavor. Sometimes the jet is the problem, sometimes the pilot is the problem, and I suppose we’ll see which was the cause of this crash. The jet can be replaced, the pilot cannot. Glad he got out in time.


6 posted on 05/20/2020 4:59:14 AM PDT by Afterguard (Deplorable me!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: spetznaz

If I were an enemy of the US, one of the tools in my bag would be to have operatives well trained as aviation mechanics and join the military or civilian airline industry. There are many ways to subtly sabotage aircraft. The operative may do nothing for years before getting the word to perform their nefarious deed. Seldom will they be detected for whatever sabotage done, the evidence is destroyed in the crash.


7 posted on 05/20/2020 5:18:14 AM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said theoal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Bayard

Part of this is just because the pilots are getting more flight time because fuel is cheap right now. More flights, more crashes.


8 posted on 05/20/2020 5:22:04 AM PDT by Campion (What part of "shall not be infringed" don't they understand?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Bayard

Better check the maintenance on those boost pumps.


9 posted on 05/20/2020 5:57:47 AM PDT by chopperk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: chopperk

Is the Air Force still training Saudi pilots there?


10 posted on 05/20/2020 6:08:12 AM PDT by Colo9250
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: HighSierra5

The pilot stayed with the jet and his last words were “I can’t hit the school”. “

And those are the people bridges should be named after, not politicians.


11 posted on 05/20/2020 6:11:11 AM PDT by HereInTheHeartland (Leave me alone, I have no incriminating evidence on the Clintons)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: HighSierra5

Folks, that, there, is a man.

May he be with God.


12 posted on 05/20/2020 6:27:12 AM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: HighSierra5

Why is it schools and jets?

http://faller.ssusd.org/school_info/lieutenant_commander_theodore_h__faller__a_true_he


13 posted on 05/20/2020 6:29:08 AM PDT by Scrambler Bob (This is not /s. It is just as viable as any MSM 'information', maybe more so!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

There will be new job openings firings coming.


14 posted on 05/20/2020 6:33:27 AM PDT by boomop1 (term limits NOW)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

I’d like at the Chinese hackers.


15 posted on 05/20/2020 7:02:43 AM PDT by Savage Rider
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

Sounds like mainenance.


16 posted on 05/20/2020 7:14:52 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight neiyour way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: elpadre

You mean like the ones who now are allowed to wear turbans?


17 posted on 05/20/2020 7:16:01 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (We are governed by the consent of the governed and we are fools for allowing it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Georgia Girl 2
One of the big justifications for the F35 going single engine was that engine reliability was much improved over generations past. I was never fully convinced. Much better to have two if you lose one.

People point to civil aviation for safety statistics, and the record is really good. Engines are pretty reliable these days. They can run without problems for thousands of hours. Here's the discriminator. Civil aviation runs airframes and engines with huge safety margins built into the design. Military combat training and flight shrinks margin to gain performance, so the engines often see more heat, more stress, more wear and tear. I'd still rather have two engines over one.

18 posted on 05/20/2020 7:25:16 AM PDT by Magnum44 (My comprehensive terrorism plan: Hunt them down and kill them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

Do the F22’s have a bunch of Chinese Computers on board?


19 posted on 05/20/2020 7:43:08 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yo-Yo

One of the reasons I love to take vacation in Ft. Walton Beach (besides the white sand and emerald water) is that there is often an air show of sorts with the variety of aircraft seen over the area.


20 posted on 05/20/2020 7:46:30 AM PDT by Repealthe17thAmendment
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-35 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson