An F-35A Lightning II takes off on March 2, 2023, from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. A maintainer at Luke left a flashlight inside the $14 million engine of an F-35 during maintenance. The mistake severely damaged the engine blades. (Elias Carrero/U.S. Air Force)
A handheld flashlight left inside an F-35 engine by maintainers at Luke Air Force Base last year caused $4 million in damage, Air Force investigators said in a recently released report.
The flashlight was sucked into the $14 million engine when the three-person maintenance team at the Arizona base ran the jet’s engine for about five minutes on March 15, 2023, following work on the 56th Fighter Wing aircraft.
“I believe I just ingested a flashlight,” one maintainer said at the time, according to the report, which was released last week by the Air Education and Training Command.
An accident investigation board determined that a maintainer didn’t make sure the engine inlet was clear of foreign objects and didn’t inventory all tools after the work was done.
The board also found shortcomings in the F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Information System. A lack of network connectivity on the flight line and unnecessarily lengthy checklists were significant factors in the accident, the report stated.
For one procedure, a maintainer must reference and complete at least 15 checklists, each of which has its own list of required tasks and procedures, the report noted. The number of steps makes it easier to miss important cautions or warnings, investigators found.
The big mistake happened while maintainers were checking for fuel leaks after installing a metering plug into an engine fuel line.
One of the maintainers used the flashlight to see inside the poorly lit F-35A engine inlet. The flashlight was left on the lip of the intake, according to the report. A tool kit inventory list after the damaged blades were discovered noted a missing flashlight.
Abnormal noises could be heard as the engine was on and maintainers could see the blades were damaged after shutting down the test, the report said.
Nobody was injured in the accident. The engine damage couldn’t be repaired locally, according to the report, which did not say where the plane was taken to be fixed.
The maintainers all were qualified to do the engine work and tests for alcohol and other drugs that could cause impairment were negative, the report said.
