Reports of F-35B Crash/Pilot Ejection MCAS Beaufort

It was unclear from the twittering aerospace aviation reporters whether the engine will have to be pulled to inspect and possibly replace these two other fuel tubes. One tweet said the engines had to be pulled. Another tweet referred to a web "article" that stated the engines did not have to be pulled. As pulling an F135 and replacing is a 5-7 hour process... that is no small task.

What is a fuel "tube" anyway? I know what a tube is. And I'm familiar with fuel "hoses"... but what is a tube? Is it the shunt to which is affixed a hose?

With all the recent announcements about "fuel tubes", the accident is beginning to sound like a fuel starvation incident, although a failure in a fueldraulic system, esp. during a Mode 4 STOVL transition would not be good.

From the article at the MCT link above -- “The procedure to inspect and replace can be done by flightline maintenance without removing the engine.”

Defective fuel tube caused September F-35 crash in South Carolina: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A failed fuel tube caused the first crash of an F-35 jet in September of last year, U.S. government investigators said in a report issued this week.

“An investigation determined a manufacturing defect caused an engine fuel tube to rupture during flight, resulting in a loss of power to the engine,” the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued this week...

After the September crash the Pentagon’s office that runs the F-35 program said that some fuel tubes from Pratt & Whitney would be replaced during regular maintenance...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKCN1SH0G9

Thanks for that 'zerion' - another here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... t-gao-says (looking for GAO report)

Has anyone seen which tail number this was in a accident report or something?

Just curious, not in the database,
BP