The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing's first F-35B touches down Friday afternoon, Nov. 16, 2012, at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Yuma, Ariz. The plane belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing will introduce its first F-35B squadron Tuesday during an official ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. During the ceremony, Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121, formerly a 3rd MAW F/A-18 Hornet squadron, will be re-designated as the Corps' first operational F-35 squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121. (AP Photo/The Yuma Sun, Randy Hoeft)
Pentagon ends grounding of F-35 fighters
Published: 03:37:07 AM, Fri 01 March 2013 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says it has lifted an order that briefly grounded its fleet of F-35 fighter jets.
The jets were grounded on Feb. 21 after the discovery of a small crack in the turbine blade of an engine in one F-35 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
On Thursday evening the Pentagon said all 51 planes had been cleared to resume flight operations.
It said prolonged exposure to high levels of heat and other unspecific "stressors" were determined to be the cause of the crack. No additional cracks were found.
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