There has never been an epoch in the history of military aviation that has been completely free of incidents that have resulted in a damaged or destroyed aircraft. This is due to the fact that aircraft are machines with hundreds of thousands of parts. From time to time these parts wear out and break, and in some instances, this results in disaster.
In other instances, the crash is related to pilot error. While aircraft incidents have greatly decreased, the fact remains, there will always be issues related to the aircraft or the pilot, which will result in damaged or destroyed aircraft. This article will examine information related to US military aircraft incidents in general, then it will proceed to look at F-35 crashes and the reasoning behind them.
Aviation mishaps According to the Air Force Safety Center: A mishap is an “unplanned event or series of events resulting in death, injury, occupational illness, or damage to or loss of equipment or property, or damage to the environment.” Class A mishaps are currently reported anytime an incident occurs that results in 1) damage valued at $2 million dollars or more to an aircraft 2) a fatality or permanent disability that results from an aircraft mishap 3) the destruction of the aircraft. The monetary value of damage to an aircraft has been continually updated since 1950 to account for inflation For more information on Mishap classes click HERE The incident rate with respect the US Air Force (USAF) has continued to decline si.