A Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. (DoD photo by Cherie Cullen)
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -
Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney says heat was the cause of a cracked blade on an engine outfitting the U.S. military's F-35 fighter jet.
Bennett Croswell, president of the company's military engines division, said on a conference call Wednesday that finding the cause was "very good news." He said heat is preferable to the effects of fatigue on the engine part because fatigue spreads, making the problem worse.
What Croswell called "thermal creep" was due to the engine operating longer than usual at a high temperature. He says it was the only affected engine of about 75.
The Pentagon briefly grounded its fleet of F-35 fighter jets on Feb. 22 after discovering the cracked engine blade at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Pratt & Whitney, based in East Hartford, Conn., is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
Friday, May 17 2013 4:38 PM EDT2013-05-17 20:38:41 GMT
DOD photo
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday ordered the military to recertify all 25,000 people involved in programs designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday ordered the military to recertify all 25,000 people involved in programs designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault.
Friday, May 17 2013 4:17 PM EDT2013-05-17 20:17:46 GMT
A Humvee carrying six Navy SEALs and two other sailors overturned during a training exercise at Fort Knox in Kentucky, killing one of the SEALs and injuring the others, military officials said Friday.
A Humvee carrying six Navy SEALs and two other sailors overturned during a training exercise at Fort Knox in Kentucky, killing one of the SEALs and injuring the others, military officials said Friday.
The Connecticut Senate has passed legislation that will allow local and regional school boards to award honorary high school diplomas to certain Vietnam War veterans.
The Connecticut Senate has passed legislation that will allow local and regional school boards to award honorary high school diplomas to certain Vietnam War veterans.
Timely and adequate health care is needed to help U.S. military personnel and their families readjust to life after deployment, an Institute of Medicine report finds.
Timely and adequate health care is needed to help U.S. military personnel and their families readjust to life after deployment, an Institute of Medicine report finds.
U.S. military personnel who were the victims of sexual or physical assault as adults are at increased risk for suicidal thoughts or actions, according to a new study.
U.S. military personnel who were the victims of sexual or physical assault as adults are at increased risk for suicidal thoughts or actions, according to a new study.
A Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. (DoD photo by Cherie Cullen)
