The U.S. Services and International partners have temporarily suspended F-35 flight operations while the enterprise conducts a fleet-wide inspection of a fuel tube within the engine on all F-35 aircraft.
If suspect fuel tubes are installed, the part will be removed and replaced. If known good fuel tubes are already installed, then those aircraft will be returned to flight status. Inspections are expected to be completed by Friday or Saturday.
The action to perform the inspection is driven from initial data from the ongoing investigation of the F-35B that crashed in the vicinity of Beaufort, South Carolina on September 28. The aircraft mishap board is continuing its work and the U.S. Marine Corps will provide additional information when it becomes available.
Lockheed Martin released a statement indicating they have "completed inspections of their engines and have resumed flying." They also stated that jets scheduled to fly in the Alliance Air Show this weekend have been inspected by the U.S. Air Force and will fly during the show.
