Originally Posted by
Easy Street
It's massively complicated by the fact that not all of the F35 intake duct is visible from outside. And I'm led to believe that F35 has some covers which are not visible from outside even when properly fitted. So the crucial question in relation to culpability is whether there is a procedure in place to show all blanks and covers to the commander, to prove they aren't lying somewhere hidden from sight. If there is no such procedure, then the commander is reliant on the word of the flight deck crew that all covers have been removed. (I assume the flight deck crew don't sign the tech log to that effect, as the covers would be off for too long a time). The commander doesn't become responsible for other 'invisible' faults, like loose hydraulic joints or wiring errors, simply by signing for the jet. And crawling down the intake wearing flying kit is not going to do much good for the surface finish!
Assuming these reports are somewhere close to the truth, the fact that they have resumed normal flying operations suggests that measures to prevent it from happening again have already been implemented.