A response has been given to the belly landing crash of the South Korean Air Force‘s fifth-generation F-35 stealth multi-role fighter, following a statement issued by the relevant authorities, in which they said a bird was the reason for the crash.

In particular, the ROKAF (Republic of Korea Air Force) reported that a bird “hit” the left engine intake air duct during a training flight, causing the pilot to lose control of the fighter and make an emergency landing with the bottom of the F-35‘s fuselage because the aircraft‘s landing systems failed.

The incident took place on 4 January near the runway at Seosan Air Base, 151 km south of Seoul, and the pilot was rescued without serious injuries. In this context, an investigation was ordered to conduct an in-depth investigation into the causes and circumstances of the air accident and the F-35 fighter fleet was grounded as a precautionary measure.

ROKAF also announced the opening of an investigation by US experts to examine the reasons why the aircraft‘s electronic systems and landing equipment failed.

Recall that the pilot was flying at low altitude and became concerned when he heard noises, so he checked the F-35‘s operating systems. When he found that everything had stopped working except the engine and the aircraft‘s handling system, he decided to perform an emergency landing with the fighter‘s “belly“, which was the first time this had happened with an F-35 and has terrible consequences for the aircraft‘s construction and the stealth properties offered by the fuselage paint coating.