F-35A jet crashed in the Pacific Ocean, April 2019. (Image via Nikkei)

What Caused F-35A Jet to Crash?

Earlier this year, specifically in January, the Japanese air force started to use 13 F-35As. However, after only about 3 months using it, on April 9, one of the planes crashed in Pacific Ocean. It is said to lost contact just about 30 minutes after taking off from Misawa Air Base. A few days after the crash, the Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, stated that the jet made seven emergency landings before eventually crashed in the ocean. Other investigations were conducted to find out the reason of its’ crashed. The number one suspect is due to the manufacturing of the plane.

However, two months after the crash, it is concluded that the pilot might have suffered “spatial disorientation” or known as vertigo. If pilots suffered one during a flight, they will most likely lose their sense of balance. Therefore, it is a serious issue especially for pilots when the horizon is not visible—they can only see darkness or clouds.

The case of pilots having vertigo during flights has happened before. In December 2016, a Russian plane crashed in the Black Sea (known as the Black Sea crash). The crash killed 92 people and it was concluded that the pilot could have had vertigo during the flight and it caused him to make errors.

For the F-35A crash case, the Defense Minister said that they will continue to use F-35A jets, as it turned out there was nothing wrong with the plane. However, they will increase the training for spatial disorientation, as this could happen to other pilots anytime.

Previously, Japan bought the F-35A jet to replace its old F-4 jet. Each of F-35A costs more than 10 billion yen ($92 million).

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan-says-human-error-likely-cause-of-f-35a-jet-crash