A pilot escapes from the burning F-4EJ.
In dramatic video footage, two Japanese pilots escaped from a burning F-4EJ Phantom II before takeoff. Daily Mail. The accident occurred at Hyakuri Air Base in Ibaraki prefecture. The two pilots escaped without injury. It is thought that the fire was caused by a malfunctioning landing gear. Japan has grounded their F-4EJ Phantoms to make sure the problem doesn't occur again. The F-4EJ Phantom II's are old jets first introduced in the 1960's and are due to be replaced by F-35's.
My Comment:
Scary moment for the Japanese pilots. They were very close to being burned alive, which is horrifying. They were very lucky that nobody was hurt. You can see the video in the link above or on Youtube below in case you don't want to support the Daily Mail (or Youtube for that matter).
What is most surprising to me is that the Japanese still use F-4 Phantoms. These planes are almost five decades old now. America retired our last combat jets in 1996, though we kept them on for non-combat roles. Japan is one of only a few countries, including South Korea, Turkey and Iran. Yep, the F-4's are so old that the pre-date the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Japan still has three combat squadrons but they aren't in a front line role and are due to be replaced. The reason they haven't been is because the delays with the F-35 program. Those new F-35's, with as many problems as they have, are now desperately needed for Japan. Right now their F-4 Phantoms are no longer reliable.
Given how high tensions are that is a very bad thing. If a war were to break out between North Korea and everyone else the Japanese might not be ready now. I don't think these F-4's would have a large amount of effect, but it would reduce Japan's strike capability. Very bad timing for these F-4's.
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