Parachute problems fixed on 3 grounded F-35s - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Parachute problems fixed on 3 grounded F-35s

Three of the 15 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters grounded for having their ejection seat parachutes packed backwards will resume flying on Tuesday.

The aircraft were grounded on Jan. 26.

Six of the aircraft are at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and the remaining nine are undergoing ground testing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Another three aircraft in production at Fort Worth, Texas, also need to have their parachutes repacked.

Three of the aircraft at Edwards now have their chutes repacked, but the first Monday of each month is designated a “no fly” training day, so they won’t return to the air until tomorrow, said Cmdr. Kyra P. Hawn, a spokeswoman for the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office.

The remaining aircraft at Edwards should have their parachutes repacked by the end of the week.

“The priority for installing repacked chutes are those jets actively engaged in flight tests,” Hawn said in an email. “For that reason, following Edwards installations this week, chutes delivered next week will address jets in flight tests at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth.”

The remaining nine aircraft should have their parachutes repacked the week of Feb. 20, Hawn said.