The Cause of F-35 Emergency Landing Was a "Collision with an Eagle"... Flight Resumed

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been confirmed that the main cause of the emergency landing of the F-35A advanced stealth fighter jet in January was a collision with an eagle.

On the 3rd, the Air Force reported that on January 4th, the F-35A took off from Cheongju Base for an air-to-ground firing mission and was flying at an altitude of about 330 meters while entering the firing range when a large bird of prey, an eagle, collided with the left air intake. The eagle, weighing about 10 kg, usually inhabits areas such as Cheorwon and Paju, but has recently moved south due to food shortages and is known to be active throughout the Korean Peninsula.

It was investigated that the eagle penetrated the aircraft bulkhead (barrier) located between the air intake and the Weapon Bay and was sucked inside. Due to this collision, multiple damages occurred to the landing gear hydraulic lines and power supply wiring inside the F-35A's Weapon Bay, causing simultaneous malfunctions such as degradation of the flight control and navigation systems and failure of the landing gear operation.

Considering that the F-35A was flying at a high speed of 900 km/h, the impact with the eagle is estimated to have been significant. An Air Force official explained, "Calculating the impact force received when an aircraft weighing over 20 tons with fuel onboard collides with a 10 kg bird, it was about 30 tons."

Subsequently, the F-35A made an emergency landing at Seosan Base along the West Sea, avoiding densely populated areas. Since the landing gear was not functioning, a belly landing was attempted using the aircraft's fuselage. A belly landing is a method of emergency landing where the aircraft's fuselage is directly placed on the runway, requiring highly skilled piloting and fire prevention measures.

The joint Korea-US investigation team analyzed flight data from the flight recorder, air traffic control radar track data, and statements from the mission pilot for this investigation.

An Air Force official stated, "We plan to consult with the aircraft manufacturer on measures to minimize damage from impacts caused by foreign objects inside the F-35A Weapon Bay and to ensure the normal operation of the landing gear and the independence of the auxiliary operation system in emergencies," adding, "Flights will resume from the second week of this month."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.