British F-35B carrier-based aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean! Experts: The reason can be found in three aspects: equipment, personnel training and environment

On January 17, the British Ministry of Defence issued a statement saying that an F-35B carrier-based fighter of the British Royal Navy's "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in the morning, and the pilot catapulted and parachuted. It was the first British F-35B to crash. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation. The next question is, what about the wreckage of the fighter jet that fell into the sea? The latest reports in the British media said that the fighter jet fell into international waters, and a "salvage race" has begun, and the British army has used special forces and mini-submarines to do so.

The Naval Association website said the crash was the F-35B's third loss in history. The first two accidents were both U.S. military aircraft. In addition, according to other sources, on May 31 this year, shortly after the Queen Elizabeth began its "round the world cruise", the F-35B of the US Marine Corps carried by the ship made an emergency landing on the Spanish island of Ibiza.

In an interview with the Global Times, military expert Zhang Xuefeng said that because the information currently available is very limited, it is too early to analyze the specific causes of the F-35B crash. But in general, the reasons can be found in three aspects: equipment, personnel training and environment. From the equipment point of view, the F-35B short take-off, vertical landing aircraft design is more complex, especially in the take-off and landing stage, the need to draw power from the engine, drive the lift fan, but also consider the complex thrust steering and airflow during take-off and landing, its intake and exhaust systems are more complex than conventional aircraft. This complex design not only leads to a high failure rate of the fighter itself, but also adds great difficulty to driving. The previous generation of "Sea Harrier" and the American AV-8 series short take-off and vertical landing aircraft have a very high accident rate because of their complex design.

Another possible factor is the human factor. The British army's own F-35B landed on the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth for the first time, which was completed in October 2019, which allowed the carrier to take off the hat of "the most luxurious helicopter carrier in history". This year, the "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier duty, 10 of the 18 F-35Bs are U.S. military, pilots are also U.S. Marine Corps. This also shows that the British pilots are not fully prepared. Whether there will be a space disorientation during maritime flight training is a factor that needs to be considered. In addition, if the F-35B is trained at low altitude and ultra-low altitude at sea, the risk of hitting birds cannot be ruled out. (Zhang Jin)

Source: Global Times