Japan allows F-35A fighters to fly again after deadly April crash halted operations

TOKYO — The Japan Air Self-Defense Force on Thursday resumed flights of its F-35A Lightning II fighters, which were grounded after one crashed into the Pacific Ocean in April, defense officials said.

“The Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces have conducted thorough training and education on spatial disorientation and conducted special inspections of the aircraft,” Japan’s Defense Minister, Takeshi Iwaya, told reporters Thursday morning.

Two F-35A fighters took off at about 2:40 p.m. Thursday from Misawa Air Base, where all Japanese F-35As are based, a JASDF spokesman said.

A JASDF F-35A and its pilot, Maj. Akinori Hosomi, went down April 9 about 85 miles east of Misawa in northeastern Japan. Hosomi’s remains were recovered June 5, nearly two months after the crash and two days after the Defense Ministry curtailed its search.

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