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More trouble for Britain's F-35 fighter jet stuck in Kerala for 6 days. What went wrong?
The British F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala on June 14.
A UK Navy maintenance team attempted to fix the issue in the F-35 fighter jet that made an emergency landing at Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. However, the effort was unsuccessful, news agency ANI reported on Friday, citing defence officials.
“A few days ago, the F-35 fighter jet of the UK Navy had made an emergency landing due to low fuel, after which the Indian Air Force had provided all required support, including refuelling. However, when the aircraft was going back, it developed a hydraulic failure and could not go back. A maintenance team of the UK Navy had come and tried to rectify the problem, but could not,” a statement by defence officials said.
They added that a bigger maintenance team is likely to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram to recover the aircraft.
“A bigger maintenance team is expected to come to recover the aircraft. If required, the aircraft may even be taken back in a military transport aircraft,” the officials said.
The British F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala on June 14 after reportedly running low on fuel.
Also Read | What IAF said about British F-35 fighter jet's emergency landing in Kerala
As reported by the Hindustan Times, the F-35B sought permission from the airport authorities and landed safely around 9.30pm, according to an airport official.
A day later, the Indian Air Force (IAF) issued a statement, stating that it is “fully aware” of the development and that it facilitated the aircraft for “safety reasons”.
“Normal occurrence of diversion by F-35. IAF fully aware and facilitated the aircraft for flight safety reasons. All assistance being given, and IAF is in coordination with all agencies,” the statement said.
