Japan resumed flights of Air Self-Defense Force F-35A stealth fighter jets Thursday, having suspended them since a fatal crash in April, the first ever reported for the aircraft.
In June, the Defense Ministry concluded that the crash of an F-35A into the Pacific Ocean off Aomori Prefecture had likely been the result of the pilot suffering vertigo, and has won consent to resume flights from the heads of local governments in northeastern in Japan, which hosts the 12 other F-35As.
"We've taken thorough measures for safety management," Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters Thursday morning. The flights resumed in the afternoon.
The ministry has taken such steps as inspections of the remaining fighters and additional training of pilots.
During a night exercise on April 9, Maj. Akinori Hosomi, the 41-year-old pilot, is believed to have lost his bearings due to "spatial disorientation" after taking off from Misawa Air Base in Aomori. He was later confirmed dead.
(File photo taken in June 2017 shows the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's F-35A stealth jet that crashed into the Pacific off the coast of northeastern Japan)
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The ministry said it will not conduct night training for F-35As for the time being, and flight exercises in the daytime will focus on basic flying skills.
Despite the accident, Iwaya has said Japan will maintain its plan to purchase more F-35As from the United States and deploy a total of 105.
According to the ministry's interim report released in June, there were no abnormalities about the body of the cutting-edge jet nor signs that Hosomi tried to eject. His plane plunged into the sea at a speed of over 1,100 kilometers per hour.
The ministry said it will issue a final report soon.
With the cooperation of the U.S. forces, the SDF has recovered the debris of a flight data recorder from the crashed F-35A, but without the storage medium, as well as parts of Hosomi's body in the area of the sea where debris from the jet was recovered.
By Monday, Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura and Misawa Mayor Yoshinori Kohiyama agreed on flight resumptions, following the ministry's explanation of its safety measures.
