Stranded for 5 weeks, UK jet set to fly out

Nearly five weeks after the UK Royal Navy’s F-35B stealth fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, the multi-million dollar aircraft is set to fly out of the country after repairs on its hydraulics.

The jet is likely to flight out tomorrow or the day after, depending upon the UK Royal Navy’s schedule and arrangement of logistics for the plane and its pilots.

Sources said the plane was expected to fly eastwards towards Australia, where it would rejoin aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, which is currently in the Indo-Pacific leading the UK deployment for Operation Highmast. The plane is expected to refuel mid-air or at one of the US bases in the Philippines, allowing rest to the pilot.

As the jet is likely to fly over the sensitive Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the air defence as well as coastal radar networks have been notified to prevent any alarm at the ground stations. The jet had made an emergency landing on June 14 after the pilot sought a diversion citing low fuel over the Arabian Sea.