Hope Air Disasters covers it. May not since it is an F 35. The program does a nice job of taking the viewer through the investigative process.

The F-35B Can Eject Its Pilot Automatically

"The circumstances surrounding a mishap involving a Lockheed Martin-owned F-35B Joint Strike Fighter last week, in which a still unnamed U.S. Air Force pilot at the controls at the time was able to safely eject and suffered no serious injuries, remain under investigation. However, the incident, dramatic video footage of which was captured at the time, makes it worthwhile to discuss an obscure feature on the aircraft: an 'auto eject' system that can engage the jet's Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat without direction under very particular circumstances..."

Complete article:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-w...-pilot-automatically

I saw where there is a still shot of just before it ingested a bird.

https://www.defensenews.com/ai...ion-on-texas-runway/

Pentagon grounds small group of F-35s after ejection on Texas runway

By Stephen Losey
Dec 27, 03:21 PM

WASHINGTON — The F-35 Joint Program Office has grounded a small number of newer F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in response to the Dec. 15 incident in which a hovering fighter crashed on a Texas runway and its pilot ejected.

In a statement to Defense News on Tuesday, the F-35 Joint Program Office confirmed it issued guidance as a result of the incident and that some higher-risk F-35s are grounded, at least until January. The JPO, which said the guidance was dated Tuesday, declined to specify how many F-35s are unable to fly.

“The F-35 Joint Program Office has issued a Time Compliance Technical Directive (TCTD) to restrict some aircraft, which have been evaluated to be of higher risk, from flight operations while the investigation into the mishap on December 15 continues and until procedures can be developed for their return to flight,” the JPO said. “The affected aircraft have been identified, and the JPO will work with the [U.S. military] services and [international] partners to ensure compliance with the TCTD.”

Video of the dramatic F-35B crash earlier this month at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, and its pilot’s successful on-the-ground ejection quickly went viral on social media.

Lockheed Martin builds the vast majority of F-35s at its facility in Fort Worth, and the company had not yet transferred this new F-35B to the U.S. government when the crash occurred. Pratt & Whitney makes the F135 propulsion systems that power all variants of the F-35.

The U.S. Air Force pilot, who was performing quality checks on the F-35B for the Defense Contract Management Agency, can be seen hovering the fighter not far above the ground in the crash video. The fighter descends, bounces off the ground and tips forward. Its nose and then right wing touch the ground, the fighter starts to spin around, and the pilot ejects.

The JPO would not say what caused the grounded F-35s to be deemed at a higher risk.

A source familiar with the program, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the incident, said the JPO’s initial assessment found that a propulsion system issue led to the Dec. 15 crash of the hovering F-35B, which has now led to broader groundings in the fleet.

The source said that, in guidance to the services, the JPO said a failure of a tube used to transfer high-pressure fuel in the fighter’s F135 engine prompted the office to update its safety risk assessments.

The JPO also told the services that jets with fewer than 40 hours of flying are affected, this source said.

The JPO declined to confirm that information.

Pratt & Whitney said in a statement to Defense News it could not comment on the Dec. 15 crash because it involves an ongoing investigation.

In its Tuesday statement to Defense News, the JPO said the groundings were put into place after a “preliminary assessment of the risk” and that it was taking steps it hoped would allow the directive to be modified sometime in January.

“The safety of flight crews is the JPO’s primary concern,” the statement concluded.

Though the JPO would not say exactly how many F-35s were grounded, it confirmed the grounded jets include all three variants. Some of those grounded F-35s are American fighters.

The news site Times of Israel on Sunday reported the Israeli Air Force had grounded 11 of its F-35s due to the incident, and that they would be checked for similar issues. Israel flies the F-35I, which is based on the F-35A.

In a statement to Defense News, Lockheed Martin said it is continuing to work with Navy officials in Fort Worth following the incident, and the company referred other questions on the groundings to the JPO.

Lockheed Martin said on its website it has so far delivered more than 875 F-35s to the U.S. military and the program’s partner nations.

https://www.defensenews.com/ai...going-investigation/

New F-35 engine deliveries suspended amid ongoing investigation

By Stephen Losey
Jan 4, 10:55 AM

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military and defense contractor Pratt & Whitney have suspended deliveries of new engines for the F-35 fighter in the wake of a December mishap on a Texas runway.

The F-35 Joint Program Office said in an email to Defense News that the delivery of new F135 engines was paused Dec. 27, after what the JPO described as a “mutual agreement” involving itself, the Defense Contract Management Agency and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney.

The JPO said in the email that deliveries are paused while the investigation into the Dec. 15 mishap involving an F-35B continues, and as ground tests take place to identify the root cause of the accident.

Pratt & Whitney did not respond Wednesday to multiple requests for comment. Last week, the company said it could not comment on the mishap because it involves an ongoing investigation.

Video of that incident at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth showed the newly constructed F-35B hovering close to the ground before descending. The fighter bounced once and tipped forward; its nose and wing touched the ground as it started to spin around. The fighter’s Air Force pilot, who was performing a quality check flight for the Defense Contract Management Agency, safely ejected on the ground.

After that accident, Lockheed Martin, which makes the jet, halted acceptance flights of new F-35s at all three of its production facilities, including Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth.

This had the effect of also halting deliveries for the last two weeks of the year, which meant Lockheed delivered 141 F-35s in 2022, fewer than the contractually required 148.

Lockheed told Defense News on Dec. 30 it was on track to meet its delivery commitments before the mishap, and has continued to build F-35s. The company said it had nine completed fighters ready to undergo acceptance flights.

The JPO said in a statement last week to Defense News it had issued guidance restricting some higher-risk aircraft from flight operations while the investigation continued. The JPO later revised its statement to say it had recommended the flight operation restrictions until procedures are developed for their return to flight.

Defense News also learned last week the initial investigation into the Dec. 15 mishap, conducted by Naval Air Systems Command with JPO’s support, found a tube used to transfer high-pressure fuel in the fighter’s engine had failed. This discovery prompted the JPO to update its safety risk assessments for a small number of fighters.

The JPO said it is working with DCMA, Pratt & Whitney, and Lockheed Martin to develop procedures to lift the restrictions and resume acceptance flight operations, but doesn’t know how long the groundings will be in effect.

https://www.airandspaceforces....ing-f-35-deliveries/

Lockheed Martin Clears Crucial Hurdle to Restarting F-35 Deliveries

March 6, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin restarted flying operations at its Fort Worth, Texas, facilities March 6, paving the way for deliveries of F-35s to resume after a nearly three-month hiatus. It’s not yet clear when the first new F-35 of 2023 will be delivered.

“We resumed F-35 production flight operations today following an F135 engine mitigation action,” the company said in a press statement. The move follows action by Pratt & Whitney to resume deliveries of F135 engines with the issuance of a technical order to address issues of harmonic resonance in the powerplants.

Lockheed has completed but not delivered 26 F-35s since the hold on flying operations was put in place after a mid-December crash of an F-35B at Fort Worth. Acceptance flights by Lockheed and Defense Contract Management Agency test pilots are needed to ensure the aircraft work properly and that any deficiencies can be documented.

“Safety remains our top priority; we will deliver the aircraft as quickly as possible after undertaking the multiple checks and test flights needed,” a Lockheed spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Flying was halted Dec. 14 as precautionary measure after the crash; the hold on flying meant acceptance tests could not proceed. Pratt stopped delivering F135 engines at the end of December.

Although Pratt and the F-35 Joint Program Office had said the harmonic resonance problem only affected a small number of aircraft, the entire worldwide fleet of F-35s will get a retrofit to fix the issue, which Pratt said only showed up after more than 600,000 hours of F135 engine operations. Officials from the engine maker told reporters early last week they had identified a fix and resumed deliveries of the engine March 2.

A time compliance technical directive (TCTD) was then issued by the JPO; aircraft that were not affected by the harmonic resonance issue will not have any flight restrictions placed on them while they wait for the fix, while the small number of aircraft that were grounded will be cleared to fly once they get the retrofit, which takes between four and eight hours, a JPO spokesperson said.

A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said all 26 undelivered F-35s will either get the retrofit before flying or receive an already modified engine. There are no changes required for aircraft production to incorporate the retrofit, the spokesperson added.

quote:

<SNIP> ...an obscure feature on the aircraft: an 'auto eject' system that can engage the jet's Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat without direction under very particular circumstances..."<SNIP>

I bet that would be a hell of a surprise to be in the middle of managing an issue and find yourself exiting the jet without reaching that point in your decision path yet.