Thiruvananthapuram: A team of 14 technical experts from the UK landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala on Sunday, in what is being seen as a last effort to repair the Royal Navy F35B Lightning II fighter jet stranded there since June 14, before the aircraft is dismantled and airlifted back home.
A Royal Air Force (RAF) Airbus A400M Atlas landed at the Indian airport with 24 people, specialised equipment and spares. Apart from the 14 technical experts, the aircraft had a 10-member crew.
The Atlas is not heavy enough to airlift the dismantled fighter aircraft, if such a decision is taken though and it left Thiruvananthapuram after dropping the technicians and equipment. If the F35B is to be airlifted, a C-17 Globemaster of the RAF will have to be sent in.
The fifth-generation stealth fighter has been towed into a Maintenance Repair and Overall (MRO) hangar, meanwhile, where the British team can work on it. The experts are expected to arrive at a decision on whether it can be repaired in-situ in the next few days.
The F35B was based on the HMS Prince of Wales that was in the Arabian Sea, close to the Kerala coast on June 14, after an exercise with the Indian Navy. It took off on a routine sortie from the aircraft carrier but was unable to land back due to bad weather.
The pilot then declared an emergency after running short of fuel, following which the Indian Air Force guided him to a safe landing at Thiruvananthapuram. The aircraft was refuelled on a request from British authorities, but when the pilot readied for take-off, he realised that there was a problem with the hydraulics as well as the engine. This could be due to the landing of the aircraft with a nearly empty fuel tank.
The US$ 110 million aircraft had since then remained parked in a bay of the airport, under the guard of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and a six-member Royal Navy team.
