Tokyo, Dec. 8 (Jiji Press)–An F-35A state-of-the-art stealth fighter of Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force made an emergency landing at Hakodate Airport in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday (3:20 a.m. GMT).
The ASDF is looking into details of the incident, believing that something wrong happened with the body of the fighter during a training flight. The F-35A belongs to the ASDF’s Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
According to the ASDF, the F-35A left the Misawa base around 11:15 a.m. The fighter made the emergency landing after its body suffered some sort of problem while the plane was flying over the Sea of Japan, at a point some 190 kilometers west of the base, around 11:58 a.m.
Another aircraft flying in formation with the F-35A also landed at Hakodate Airport, shortly before 1 p.m. No injuries have been confirmed among the pilots of the planes or others.
Hakodate Airport temporarily closed its runway due to the F-35A emergency landing, according to the office of the airport. The runway was reopened for use shortly after 12:30 p.m., but the departure of one flight was delayed for about 30 minutes.
The F-35A was moved from the runway to the aircraft parking apron of the airport.
In April 2019, an F-35A from the same air base crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a training flight. The Defense Ministry said in a report later that the crash occurred apparently because the pilot lost a sense of balance and that there were no problems with the aircraft.