Japan Press Weekly

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2017 August 23 - 29 [US FORCES]

US fighter aircraft drops parts during flight

Akahata on August 27 reported that a USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier-based fighter jet deployed to the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa had dropped some of its parts during flight. It was just in May of this year that another carrier-borne airplane assigned to the U.S. Atsugi base dropped an equipment part. Similar accidents frequently occur.

The aircraft which dropped the parts was an F/A-18E Super Hornet. According to the information the Ministry of Defense provided to municipalities concerned, the fighter on August 22 participated in training exercises at sea and returned to the base. The inspection on the following day found that four parts of the aircraft, including a ball joint and a bracket, were missing.

A jet fighter of the same model in January 2014 dropped a metallic part, causing damage to the roof of a private house and a car window.

Past related articles:
> US ship-based plane drops a machine screw [May 7, 2017]
> Drop of machine part from US jet arouses anger from local residents [January 11, 2014]