Japanese F-35A crashes in Pacific in 1st ever accident for jet

Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Wednesday that a Japanese F-35A stealth fighter which disappeared from radar during an exercise the previous day crashed into the Pacific, in the first such accident involving the plane.Wreckage from the fighter's tails has been found off the coast of northeastern Japan, the minister said. Search operations by the Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Coast Guard and U.S. forces are continuing with the pilot still missing. "We'll do our best to find" him, Iwaya said.The Defense Ministry told ruling party lawmakers it is the first crash of an F-35A anywhere in th…READ FULL ARTICLE