Incident: Faulty Fuel Tube in F-35 Fleet Grounds Fighter Jets

Published Date: 2018-10-11

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving the faulty fuel tube in the F-35 strike fighter jets occurred on September 28, as mentioned in Article 76420.
System 1. Faulty fuel tube installed in some of the F-35 aircraft [76420] 2. Potential fault with a spinning blade in the F-35 aircraft [76420]
Responsible Organization 1. The software failure incident with the F-35 strike fighter jets was caused by a faulty fuel tube installed in some of the aircraft [76420].
Impacted Organization 1. The Pentagon 2. Navy 3. Israel, Britain, and other allies who have bought the F-35 from American manufacturers [76420]
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the F-35 failure incident was a faulty fuel tube installed in some of the aircraft, suspected by the military [76420].
Non-software Causes 1. Faulty fuel tube installed in some of the F-35 aircraft [76420] 2. Potential fault with a spinning blade in the aircraft that is supposed to stop debris from flying into the engine [76420]
Impacts 1. The software failure incident involving faulty fuel tubes in the F-35 strike fighter jets led to the grounding of the entire fleet, affecting operations and missions [76420]. 2. The incident required inspections of the fuel tubes in the jets, causing delays and disruptions in flight schedules and combat readiness [76420]. 3. The software failure incident raised concerns about the effectiveness and suitability of the F-35 across required mission areas and against currently fielded threats, potentially impacting its combat capabilities [76420].
Preventions 1. Regular and thorough testing of the fuel tubes and spinning blade systems in the F-35 aircraft could have potentially identified the faults before they led to a crash [76420]. 2. Implementing a more robust maintenance and inspection program for critical components like the fuel tubes and spinning blades could have helped prevent the software failure incident [76420]. 3. Continuous monitoring and analysis of data from the F-35 fleet to detect any anomalies or recurring concerns with the fuel tubes and spinning blades could have provided early warnings of potential issues [76420].
Fixes 1. Conduct a thorough inspection and replacement of faulty fuel tubes in the F-35 jets [76420]. 2. Address any potential fault with the spinning blade in the aircraft that is supposed to stop debris from flying into the engine [76420].
References 1. Pentagon statement 2. Military officials familiar with the investigation 3. Joe Dellavedova, the public affairs director for the office that oversees the F-35 program 4. Top officials who raised concerns in a memo

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident related to the faulty fuel tube in the F-35 strike fighter jets has happened again within the same organization, Lockheed Martin. The article mentions that the fuel tube issue has been a recurring concern with the F-35 fleet, indicating that similar incidents have occurred before with the same aircraft [76420]. (b) The software failure incident related to the faulty fuel tube in the F-35 strike fighter jets has also affected multiple organizations. The article states that
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase is evident in the article as it mentions problems with the fuel tubes and a potential fault with a spinning blade in the F-35 aircraft. These issues were suspected to have contributed to the crash of an F-35 jet in South Carolina. The article highlights that the investigation pointed to problems with the fuel tubes and a potential fault with a spinning blade, which are design-related concerns [76420]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is not explicitly mentioned in the article.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) The software failure incident related to the F-35 strike fighter jets grounding was primarily within the system. The incident was attributed to a faulty fuel tube installed in some of the aircraft, as well as potential faults with a spinning blade in the aircraft [76420]. These issues were internal to the design and manufacturing of the F-35 jets, leading to the grounding of the fleet for inspections and maintenance.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident related to the F-35 strike fighter jets grounding was primarily due to non-human actions. The Pentagon suspected a faulty fuel tube installed in some of the aircraft as the cause of the issue, which ultimately could have contributed to the crash [76420]. (b) Human actions were also involved in addressing the software failure incident. The military officials were conducting inspections of the fuel tubes to ensure safe operations, and decisions were made to ground the F-35 fleet for inspection and maintenance [76420].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware (a) The software failure incident related to hardware: The article mentions that the Pentagon grounded its fleet of F-35 strike fighter jets due to a suspected faulty fuel tube installed in some of the aircraft. This faulty fuel tube is a hardware component that could have contributed to the crash of one of the F-35 jets in South Carolina [76420]. (b) The software failure incident related to software: The article does not mention any specific software-related contributing factors to the F-35 crash incident. Therefore, it is unknown if the failure originated in the software.
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident related to the F-35 strike fighter jets was non-malicious. The incident was attributed to a faulty fuel tube and a potential fault with a spinning blade in the aircraft, which were not introduced with intent to harm the system [76420].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The software failure incident related to the F-35 crash near Beaufort, S.C., was not primarily attributed to poor decisions but rather to mechanical problems such as a faulty fuel tube and a potential fault with a spinning blade in the aircraft [76420]. The investigation focused on these technical issues rather than poor decisions leading to the failure.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article. Therefore, it is unknown whether the F-35 grounding incident was due to factors introduced by lack of professional competence. (b) The software failure incident related to an accidental factor is mentioned in the article. The grounding of the F-35 fleet was due to a suspected faulty fuel tube installed in some of the aircraft, which was identified as a potential contributing factor to the crash in South Carolina. This indicates a failure introduced accidentally [76420].
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident related to the F-35 strike fighter jets was temporary. The grounding of the F-35 fleet was due to a suspected faulty fuel tube installed in some of the aircraft, which was identified as a contributing factor to the crash in South Carolina. Inspections of the fuel tubes were expected to be completed within the next two days, and jets with cleared tubes would continue flying [76420].
Behaviour crash (a) crash: The software failure incident in this case resulted in a crash of the F-35 strike fighter jet in South Carolina. The crash occurred due to problems with the fuel tubes and a potential fault with a spinning blade in the aircraft that is supposed to stop debris from flying into the engine [76420]. (b) omission: There is no specific mention of the software failure incident being related to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). (c) timing: The software failure incident is not described as a timing issue where the system performed its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. (d) value: The software failure incident is not attributed to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident is not described as the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. (f) other: The software failure incident in this case is primarily related to a crash of the F-35 strike fighter jet due to issues with the fuel tubes and a potential fault with a spinning blade in the aircraft [76420].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence unknown (a) death: The software failure incident related to the F-35 crash did not result in any fatalities. The Marine pilot involved in the crash ejected safely and survived [76420].
Domain government (a) The failed system in this incident is related to the defense industry, specifically the F-35 strike fighter jets used by the military [76420].

Sources

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