Pilot Error After ‘Sierra Hotel Break’ Resulted in South China Sea F-35C Crash, Investigation Says
By: Sam LaGrone
February 21, 2023 9:18 PM
An F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter during a ramp strike aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Jan. 24, 2022.
A 2022 ramp strike aboard the carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) that injured six sailors and resulted in the loss of an F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter was due to a mistake by the fighter pilot during landing, an investigation into the Jan. 24, 2022 incident determined.
The junior officer had performed a specialized landing approach to Vinson for the first time, but he did not realize a built-in aid that helped control the plane’s power during landing was switched off. The F-35C made an underpowered approach to the carrier, according to the investigation obtained by USNI News.
By the time the pilot realized his aircraft was underpowered, there wasn’t enough time to stop the aircraft’s nose from striking the back of the flight deck, collapsing the F-35Cs landing gear. The momentum carried the fighter, assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, across the Vinson’s deck and into the South China Sea. Flying debris injured five sailors on the deck. The pilot was hurt ejecting from the fighter, according to the investigation.
“This mishap was the result of pilot error,” wrote U.S. 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Karl Thomas in his June 3rd endorsement.
https://news.usni.org/2023/02/21/pilot-error-after-sierra-hotel-break-resulted-in-south-china-sea-f-35c-crash-investigation-says
