- The F-35 was undergoing maintenance at Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona, on March 15, 2023, when the incident occurred
- An engineer left a flashlight in the engine: the three-person team did not follow standard procedure to ensure all equipment was accounted for
- As the jet's engines turned on, they heard a clattering noise. When they shut down the engines, they discovered that the rotor blades were damaged
A military investigation found that a $14 million fighter jet engine was damaged beyond repair after an engineer left a flashlight in the engine, sealed it and turned it on.
The accident occurred in March 2023 at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, in an aircraft from the 56th Fighter Squadron.
The F-35 jet's propulsion system was routinely checked and a metering plug was inserted into the engine's fuel line.
Installation of the connector was mandated across the Air Force's F-35 fleet to address a problem discovered following a fuel system mishap in December 2022. The F-35 was “one of the last aircraft to be completed,” the report states.
Pictured is an F-35 at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona – where the accident occurred in March 2023
A flashlight believed to be similar to this one was left inside the $14 million engine – and the engine was then turned on
The three-member engineering team from the 62d Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 56th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron then sealed the aircraft after installing the metering plug and tested the engine.
They fired the engines in the hangar and left the plane running for 13 minutes.
None of the warning sirens sounded and the test appeared to have gone normally.
But when they turned off the engine, the engineers heard a rattling noise.
“After the shutdown,” the report states, “one of the maintenance technicians completed the post-operation maintenance inspection and discovered damage to the engine rotor blades.”
“He reported the engine failure to the maintenance person and explained, 'I think I just swallowed a flashlight.'”
The accident occurred at this base with the 62d Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 56th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
An F-35 is pictured on the tarmac at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
Damage to the engine was estimated at $4 million, meaning the entire engine, valued at $14 million, had to be scrapped.
The Air Force Aircraft Accident Investigation Board found that the engineers failed to follow correct procedures and conduct a tool check to ensure all of their tools were accounted for before starting the engine.
They also failed to follow the standard procedure of attaching all needed items to themselves.
No one was injured in the incident.
Luke officials would not say whether any of the caregivers involved were punished for the mishap.
“All administrative actions taken in connection with the F-35 incident on March 15 cannot be released,” Air Education and Training Command spokeswoman Capt. Scarlett Trujillo said when contacted by the military news website Task & Purpose.
According to the Air Force, every member of the maintenance team was up to date and qualified to perform all tasks.