Crash puts question mark on Japanese manufacturing and F-35A performance

A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-35A stealth fighter jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the northern coast of Japan on Tuesday. Japan and the United States have mobilized a large number of aircraft and ships to search for the plane and the pilot around the crash site. Until now, they have only found the wreckage of the aircraft without any trace of the pilot.

The crashed jet was the first F-35A assembled in Japan - at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Aichi-ken prefecture. Technical factors related to assembly and manufacturing of the aircraft cannot be blamed until the cause of the crash is determined, but they cannot be ruled out either. There has been much speculation over the cause of the crash, including possible pilot error, a bird hit, technical problems with the aircraft, and problems with Japan's assembly and manufacturing sectors.

It is possible that the pilot committed an operational error. Since the jet was on a night mission, the pilot could have mistaken the sea for the sky. Once a pilot flying a high-speed plane at low altitude makes such a misjudgment, he could crash into the sea without having time to send any emergency signals.