F-35 Cleared For Flight; Turbine Crack Cause Identified

WASHINGTON: The entire F-35 fleet has been cleared to resume flying only one week after being grounded for the second time this year. In vintage Pentagonese, this is how the return to flight was announced today to Capitol Hill:"Upon completion and compliance with the immediate action Time Compliant Technical Directive (TCTD) issued this week to borescope inspect the LPT stage 3 turbine blades, F-35 LRIP aircraft are returned to flight status. Additionally, a 25 Effective Flight Hour (EFH) reporting cycle of creep damage will now be implemented to monitor and limit turbine creep exposure."

Basically, it means that a potentially really serious problem -- turbine blades suffering from high cycle fatigue -- was not the cause of the half-inch crack which led to last week's highly publicized grounding.

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