June 10 (UPI) -- A pilot's spatial disorientation likely caused the crash of a Japanese F-35 fighter jet this spring, Japan's defense minister said after the release of a preliminary report.
Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters the pilot, Maj. Akinori Hosomi, 41, is thought to have lost his bearings during an exercise in April with Japan's Air Self-Defense Force and showed no signs of ejecting before the crash. Japan had grounded its fleet of 13 F-35As after the crash.