Strong Winds Caused F-35 Engine Fire Last Year According to Report

July 13, 2017

FighterSweep Staff 4 Comments Air Force, Air Force, Military Aviation, News, Photos, Video

Apparently F-35 pilots had no idea that gusty tailwinds could cause an engine fire on the F-35. But that is exactly what happened last year at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho according to a recently released report from the Air Force Air Education and Training Command.

The Accident Investigation Board report, released Wednesday by Air Education and Training Command, concluded the Sept. 23, 2016, mishap was caused when a tailwind “forced hot air into the inlet of the Integrated Power Pack,” an internal system where the conventional auxiliary power unit and an emergency power unit combine.

The forced air “led to a series of events resulting in insufficient torque applied to the [mishap aircraft] engine during start, and thus the engine rotation speed slowed,” the report said.

“At the same time, fuel continued to be supplied to the engine at an increasing rate, which enabled an uncontained engine fire. The fire came out the engine exhaust and was carried along the outer surfaces of the [mishap aircraft] by the tailwind, causing significant damage,” it said. – DoDBuzz

The damage to the aircraft was estimated at $17 million.

Featured image of an F-35A at rest on the flightline after arriving at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Alaysia Berry

General Ripper

A strong tailwind ????? I hope we always get to fight into the wind !
- AD
  
  What does this have to do with fighting?
  
  I am sure the current fix is to put a note in the start-up procedure to determine if winds are high. We don’t know how strong the wind gusts have to be to cause this problem on engine start, but if there is a chance this could be an issue, the aircraft will have to be repositioned, or shielded, from the wind.
  
  This aircraft is designed to produce as low a radar signature as possible while accomplishing every mission task required of it. The amount of time and effort involved in placing all internal components (and external) to achieve all the necessary goals is immense. This is far beyond the capabilities of most nations, and even most alliances of nations. If it was easy, every country would have stealth fighters flying and fighting right now. These sorts of issues are something that has occurred with many fighter programs in the past and workarounds were devised to deal with them. We have no information at all about the capabilities and shortfalls of China’s fledgling stealth industry, but I guarantee that it is nowhere near what the US has been able to accomplish. The same goes for the far less stealthy T-50, which is still in testing and not ready for production.
  
  Due to the high costs and lengthy delays, it has been easy to be a critic of the F-35. However, this aircraft is really coming along and promises to fulfil the requirements set out for it. It has been long held US doctrine to build weapons that are technologically superior than anything that might be fielded by an opponent and the F-35 is no exception. If you don’t like it, please take issue with the Pentagon’s policy writers whose task it is to ensure the security of the nation.
  - General Ripper
    
    What does it have to do with fighting? A plane that catches fire because it was pointed the wrong direction when it starts up…is a “kill” for the enemy, and a free” one at that ! Your technological achievement will be an expensive hangar queen littering the ramp, but at least we will have lots of open ramp space since the leadership of the Air Force is again talking about retiring whole fleets of planes that DON’T catch fire when they point the wrong way and are actually carrying out missions today, so they can pay more for this turkey. I hope you are so gung ho when latest software update takes a large number of your technological marvels offline when we need them the most. I will read the after action reviews, looking for the “Pentagon made me do it” excuse.
    - Chuck Yeager
      
      Anyone who’s ever operated a jet knows there are limitations to starting an aircraft with wind up the tailpipe. It’s not at all unique to the F-35 and only a moron would try to argue that it is.