A US Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighter was forced to abort its sortie after it caught fire while attempting to take off from Florida...
The fire erupted in the aft section of the aircraft, according to a US Air Force statement. The pilot immediately shutdown the engine and escaped unharmed.
The aircraft is assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, which trains F-35 A/B/C Lightning II pilot and maintainer, for the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force.
The incident comes nearly two weeks after a Russian Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter prototype caught fire, as it descented for landing.
On June 13, F-35 test flights were temporarily halted for inspections of an oil flow management valve fitting inside the engine.
The Air Force variant F-35A is targeted to achieve Initial Operational Capability in August 2016.
