ATTRITION
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A STRONG tailwind has been confirmed as the cause of the engine fire that seriously damaged a US Air Force F-35A Lightning II during start-up at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, on September 23, 2016, see Attrition, November 2016, p92. An Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Aircraft Accident Investigation Report into the incident was released on July 12. It identifies the aircraft as 12-5052, assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron ‘Top Dogs’, from the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The aircraft was temporarily deployed to Mountain Home along with six other F-35As from September 10-24 for training.