The investigation into the crash of a USAF F-35A. #12-005053, at Eglin Air Force Base on 19 May has been completed. A combination of factors was behind the cause of the crash.
Photo: USAF
The pilot, from the 58th Fighter Squadron, was approaching to land when he realized that his Helmet Mounted Display is misaligned. The pilot was distracted by the misalignment which occured in the night. He failed to check his airspeed or Angle of Attack (AOA) to see if the parameters were appropriate for landing.
The jet landed at a speed that was 50 knots faster and 8 degrees AOA shallower than required. The aircraft bounced off the runway and the pilot pushes the stick forward to bring the nose down. This lead to a series of multiple and increasingly violent pitch oscillations which eventually caused the flight control system to become oversaturated. The computer then set the horizontal stabilizers such that the nose of the aircraft will pitch down. The pilot then attempted to go-around by pulling the stick back and setting full afterburner.
He eventually had to eject before the jet roll over and crashed. It was later found during the investigation that the simulator had failed to model this phenomenon correctly, and any pilot flying the simulator would have landed the aircraft without mishap as well.
The pilot told investigators that he usually feels more fatigued in the process of flying this aircraft than his previous aircraft, the F-15E. This could be due to the different oxygen generating system that was installed on board. He was also getting poor sleep lately.
The investigation board also stated that the former F-15E pilot had reverted to prior learned behaviors and landed based on his F-15E experience.
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