from the limited amount i've read, it was a cascade of problems. water contamination in the hydraulic fluid for the nose landing gear, and then a sensor decided the plane was landed on one of the touch-and-go attempts.
hasn't the aircraft had a string of incidents on like a yearly basis for awhile now? people have been questioning its longevity for some time:
F-35 Aircraft:
DOD and the Military Services Need to Reassess the Future Sustainment Strategy
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105341What GAO Found
Maintenance challenges negatively affect F-35 aircraft readiness. The F-35 fleet mission capable rate—the percentage of time the aircraft can perform one of its tasked missions—was about 55 percent in March 2023, far below program goals. This performance was due in part to challenges with depot and organizational maintenance (see fig.). The program was behind schedule in establishing depot maintenance activities to conduct repairs. As a result, component repair times remained slow with over 10,000 waiting to be repaired—above desired levels. At the same time, organizational-level maintenance has been affected by a number of issues, including a lack of technical data and training.
The Department of Defense (DOD) relies heavily on its contractor to lead and manage F-35 sustainment (see fig.). However, as DOD seeks expanded government control, it has neither (1) determined the desired mix of government and contractor roles, nor (2) identified and obtained the technical data needed to support its desired mix. The military services must take over management of F-35 sustainment by October 2027 and have an opportunity to make adjustments—specifically to the contractor-managed elements. Reassessing its approach could help DOD address its maintenance challenges and reduce costs.
Responsibility for the 12 F-35 Sustainment Elements

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2025-08-28 11:54:22)