Forgotten flashlight sucked into fighter jet engine caused millions in damage
WeirdNews
The blunder left jet “beyond local repair” with an estimated $3,933,106 in damage
(Web Desk) - A misplaced flashlight got sucked into the engine of an F-35 fighter jet on a United States Air Force base in Arizona, damaging the $14 million engine “beyond local repair,” according to a new branch report.
The craft was undergoing a maintenance ground run at Luke Air Force Base outside Glendale on March 15, 2023 when the costly mishap occurred.
During an inspection, a maintainer “used a flashlight that was left inside the engine inlet,” according to the investigation report, which was issued Thursday.
The crew then fired up the jet’s engine for five minutes to test for any possible fuel leaks.
It was only once the engine was shut off again that the maintainer “reported hearing a noise from the decelerating engine,” investigators found.
After another inspection then found “significant damage” to the $14 million engine, the maintainer broke the news to a colleague, saying, “I believe I just ingested a flashlight.”
The blunder left the jet “beyond local repair” with an estimated $3,933,106 in damage, according to the report.
No injuries were reported.
Investigators found that the maintainer “failed to clear the inlet of foreign objects after completing the required inspections for an engine run after they exited the aircraft inlet.”
