Japanese fighter sent no distress signal before Pacific plunge

A Japanese F-35A stealth fighter that crashed in the Pacific during an exercise this week did not send an emergency alert, the Air Self-Defense Force said Thursday.The single-seat jet had an ejector system that would have emitted distress signals if the pilot had got out of the cockpit with a parachute, the ASDF said.Search operations for the pilot -- a major in his 40s -- by the Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Coast Guard and U.S. forces have been continuing since the airplane disappeared from radar off the coast of northeastern Japan on Tuesday night.The Defense Ministry has concluded the …READ FULL ARTICLE