An F-4 fighter jet of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force caught fire shortly before its scheduled departure for a flight drill from a base in eastern Japan on Wednesday, but no one was hurt in the incident as the two pilots escaped safely, the ASDF said.The plane's landing gear malfunctioned for unknown reasons and the fire then broke out, apparently because fuel leaked from the fuel tank that had touched the ground. The plane was heading for a runway at Hyakuri Air Base in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, at around 11:45 a.m.Black smoke was seen billowing from the aircraft at one point.…READ FULL ARTICLE
