US Air Force F-35A Lightning II crash at Eielson Air Force Base reveals a major flaw in the American stealth fighter

A United States Air Force F-35A Lightning II crashed on January 28, 2025, at Eielson Air Force Base after a serious malfunction in the landing gear resulted in the combat jet's onboard computer taking over the controls from the pilot. As the fifth generation stealth started to lose altitude and plummeted to the ground, the pilot punched out, suffering minor injuries related to ejection. The aircraft crashed and was completely destroyed, leading to a total loss valued at $196.5 million, a Pacific Air Forces report on the accident released on August 25 stated.

The F-35A fighter, tail number 19-5535, was from the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Wing, based at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The crash took place after the pilot completed a touch-and-go landing to Runway 32 at Eielson Air Force Base as he tried to regain control of his F-35A.


But ice in the landing gear which formed after the hydraulic fluid was contaminated by water prevented the pilot from regaining control as the on board computer activated the ground-operation mode in the F-35’s avionics. The ground-operation mode signaled the aircraft's computer that the fighter had landed when in reality it was still in the air. The recorded temperature at Eielson Air Force Base at the time of the F-35A crash was 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

How F-35A pilot, Lockheed Martin engineers tried to recover the jet

During the investigation, the US Air Force found that the F-35A's "nose landing gear did not retract properly due to hydraulic fluid contaminated with water freezing". The pilot tried to rectify the problem in consultation with Lockheed Martin engineers and also ran multiple checklists. But all attempts to recover the F-35 failed, and the sensors indicated the aircraft was still on the ground.

"After running multiple checklists and a conference call with engineers, the pilot’s attempts to center the nose landing gear failed. During those attempts, ice formed inside the main landing gear struts, and they did not fully extend causing all valid Weight on Wheels sensors to indicate the aircraft was on the ground. The aircraft transitioned to “on ground” flight control law, despite being airborne, and became uncontrollable. The pilot successfully ejected, and emergency responders were at the scene within a minute," the Pacific Air Forces press release stated.

"The board concluded the mishap was caused by hydraulic fluid contaminated by water that froze in the nose landing gear and main landing gear struts," the statement added.

Lockheed Martin engineers and the crashed F-35A's pilot were able to keep the aircraft airborne for nearly 50 minutes as they tried to recover the plane and rectify the problem. Faced with a malfunctioning landing gear, the pilot attempted two touch-and-go landings to recenter the nose landing gear (NLG) wheel.

"While both attempts failed to center the NLG wheel, the right main landing gear (MLG) strut and then left MLG strut did not fully extend after takeoff due to ice forming inside the strut. After the second touch-and-go, all valid Weight on Wheels (WoW) sensors indicated the MA was on the ground, and the MA (mishap aircraft) transitioned to the “on ground” flight control law (i.e., automated ground-operation mode causing the MA to operate as though it was on the ground when flying). However, because it was actually airborne, the MA was uncontrollable. The pilot successfully ejected and emergency responders were at the scene within a minute," the United States Air Force Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Report stated.

F-35A Weight on Wheels sensor problem

Extreme cold weather has led to malfunctioning of Weight on Wheels sensors and Lockheed Martin in one of its maintenance newsletter had admitted to the equipment’s fragile nature.

“The WOW switches on the MLG are a mechanical plunger switch that are known to have a history of failure due to internal damage . . . . These failures assert as actionable HRCs and become more frequent during extreme cold weather operations where aircraft are prepared for flight in a climate controlled hangar and takeoff 20-40 minutes after being exposed to outside ambient conditions. Faults should be taken as an early indication of failure. If an actionable HRC is asserted noting a fault to a MLG WOW switch, the AFRS tied to that HRC must be followed . . . . Not acting on a WOW switch fault HRC could result in . . . WOW switches faulting . . . on a future flight which can cause erratic flying qualities making it difficult for the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft,” the crash report quoted from the company’s newsletter under the subhead Health Reporting Code (HRC) Issue.

Even after the pilot ejected, the F-35A continued to gain altitude and flew upwards. The plane reached an altitude of 3,205 feet mean sea level (MSL) (or 2,665 feet AGL) before it stalled and started to descend in an uncontrolled state.

The crashed aircraft was the third jet in four F-35A formation, and was the only aircraft involved in the mishap. The other three combat jets landed safely.

FAQs on F-35A Lightning II crash at Eielson Air Force Base

Q: What happened to the F-35A, tail number 19-5535, at Eielson Air Force Base on January 28, 2025?
A: An F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter (tail number 19-5535) crashed at the Eielson Air Force Base on January 28, 2025.

Q: Did the pilot survive the crash?
A: Yes, the pilot survived the crash but suffered minor injuries related to ejection.

Q: What caused the F-35A to crash?
A: The F-35A crashed due to hydraulic fluid contamination as water froze in the nose landing gear and main landing gear struts.

Q: What is the 354th Fighter Wing?
A: The Eielson Air Force website gives details about the 354th Fighter Wing. It is the host unit at Eielson Air Force Base and is assigned to 11th Air Force, headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage. Eleventh Air Force falls under Pacific Air Forces, which is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The wing supports operations, maintenance, mission support, and medical group functions and is host to ten tenant units.

Q: Which company produces the F-35 jets?
A: Lockheed Martin, a US global security, defense and aerospace manufacturer produces the F-35 combat aircraft.