Picture courtesy of Amarin.

 

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has confirmed the discovery of a crack in one of its F-16 fighter aircraft but insists the issue posed no risk to flight operations.

 

Air Force spokesman Air Marshal Prapas Sornsaidee said the crack was found on 19 June during a routine post-flight inspection following an aerial target training mission. Technicians identified the defect in the lower bulkhead of the main landing gear tension strut lug on the aircraft’s right-hand side.

 

The problem was detected using non-destructive inspection methods, in line with international standards and later confirmed by representatives of the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. 

 

Lockheed Martin issued a “field service report” advising against a one-time ferry flight for repairs to take place, citing maximum safety precautions needed to be followed, to avoid any risks.

 

The Air Force outlined the four measures taken in response:

 

1. Consultation and planning – Relevant units met to decide how best to move the aircraft from Wing 106 at U-Tapao to the main maintenance base in Nakhon Sawan.

 

2. Transport by C-130H – The F-16 was partially dismantled to allow loading onto a C-130 transport aircraft for relocation.

 

3. Joint repair operations – Repairs will be carried out by RTAF personnel in cooperation with Thai Aviation Industries Co., Ltd. (TAI), its strategic maintenance partner, under strict quality and safety standards.

 

4. Operational safety assurance – The Air Force stressed that the incident has no impact on flight safety or operational readiness, as the aircraft was grounded as soon as the problem detected and other aircraft passed safety tests.

 

Air Marshal Prapas emphasised that the discovery highlighted the rigour and transparency of the Air Force’s maintenance procedures, as well as the engineering capabilities of its personnel working alongside TAI.

 

“The Royal Thai Air Force is committed to ensuring the highest levels of safety for our pilots and personnel while maintaining public confidence in our operational readiness,” he said.

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Amarin 2025-09-08

 

 

 

"..defect in the lower bulkhead of the main landing gear tension strut lug on the aircraft’s right-hand side. "

Too many bumpy landings, perhaps? 

5555! I was thinking about that other kind of crack!

A lot will depend on the age of the aircraft, the number of hours flown, the number of landings plus the number of heavy landings the aircraft has 

made.

 

It may also depend on IF it is an isolated incident just on 1 aircraft in 1 air force. or if it has happened to other aircraft in other countries air forces.

 

It will also depend on the size of the crack and whether stop drilling the crack will work. Stop drilling is where a hole is drilled at each end of the crack to stop it getting bigger. The aircraft should be inspected by the same ground crew rigger at every before flight, turn around and after flight  check to ensure that the crack is not getting any bigger.

Those planes are getting fairly old. Good thing they have new Gripen planes coming in.

Drop all that US made crap and go for the European jets like the Grippen, the Rafale or the Eurofighter or even any UK made plane. Far cheaper to maintain and more then enough to protect the airspace. 

1 hour ago, Sigmund said:

or even any UK made plane

What UK plane would that be?

5 minutes ago, DezLez said:

What UK plane would that be?

 

2 hours ago, Sigmund said:

Drop all that US made crap and go for the European jets like the Grippen, the Rafale or the Eurofighter or even any UK made plane. Far cheaper to maintain and more then enough to protect the airspace. 

Rafale is expensive though. Grippen is a good choice IMHO.

12 minutes ago, Peter Crow said:

 

The problem with those is that all the parts have to be hand made. Even the tyres made by Dunlop (I think) are a special order and are expensive.

21 hours ago, Emdog said:

"..defect in the lower bulkhead of the main landing gear tension strut lug on the aircraft’s right-hand side. "

Too many bumpy landings, perhaps? 

A long life.... it happens eventually

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I always read those smugglers opting for overland transport in pick-ups and trucks. Now they upgraded and use airborne services? 

23 hours ago, Emdog said:

"..defect in the lower bulkhead of the main landing gear tension strut lug on the aircraft’s right-hand side. "

Too many bumpy landings, perhaps? 

No. The fact that it was discovered by a scheduled NDI shows that it is a known problem, which will no doubt occur on another jet in due course. Early discovery of the crack means the aircraft can be repaired and returned to service rather than become a tangled heap of wreckage on the runway. It is all standard everyday stuff and nothing to get hyped about.

22 hours ago, billd766 said:

A lot will depend on the age of the aircraft, the number of hours flown, the number of landings plus the number of heavy landings the aircraft has 

made.

 

It may also depend on IF it is an isolated incident just on 1 aircraft in 1 air force. or if it has happened to other aircraft in other countries air forces.

 

It will also depend on the size of the crack and whether stop drilling the crack will work. Stop drilling is where a hole is drilled at each end of the crack to stop it getting bigger. The aircraft should be inspected by the same ground crew rigger at every before flight, turn around and after flight  check to ensure that the crack is not getting any bigger.

Just about all of what you have written is rubbish, except the first paragraph, but heavy landings is irrelevant.

The fact that it was discovered during a routine NDI shows that it is a known problem for ALL F-16s at that particular mod. state (some aircraft may have been modified or built to a different standard which alleviates the problem)

 

Stop drilling will NOT be an option in ANY high stress component like U/C. 

Flight maintenance is carried out by whoever is qualified and available. This was NOT part of flight maintenance, but a scheduled inspection.

 

A crack in a high stress U/C component is most likely not suitable for monitoring without repair. 

Cracks and other fatigue symptoms happen in ALL aircraft.  That's why they need to undergo regular maintenance and inspections, as well as follow set lifetime service schedules. 

When a crack is found, the part gets replaced.  Same for engines, even wings get regular replacement based on hours of use.  

This is particularly true for military planes which undergo a lot more stressful flying than commercial planes.

One does not junk a plane just because a crack is found.

I suspect this story is making the news because the RTAF wants to justify its Grippen procurement.

 

On 9/8/2025 at 11:14 AM, Emdog said:

"..defect in the lower bulkhead of the main landing gear tension strut lug on the aircraft’s right-hand side. "

Too many bumpy landings, perhaps? 

Perhaps those practice landings on the road caused the cracks then.. Haha.. 

 

22 hours ago, Myran said:

Those planes are getting fairly old. Good thing they have new Gripen planes coming in.

Yeah, they need those planes to counter any offensive aggression started by countries like Myanmar. 

I would think any cracks found would take the plane out of service. Should their be a dogfight, i suspect that could cause even more damage. 

On 9/8/2025 at 5:15 AM, Georgealbert said:

discovery of a crack in one of its F-16 fighter aircraft

 

Good news - maybe they will disintegrate on missions over Cambodia! Lots of recycling material for the Khmer people.

 

No further comment from me. Just give a red thumbs down! 

3 hours ago, pete43 said:

Just about all of what you have written is rubbish, except the first paragraph, but heavy landings is irrelevant.

The fact that it was discovered during a routine NDI shows that it is a known problem for ALL F-16s at that particular mod. state (some aircraft may have been modified or built to a different standard which alleviates the problem)

 

Stop drilling will NOT be an option in ANY high stress component like U/C. 

Flight maintenance is carried out by whoever is qualified and available. This was NOT part of flight maintenance, but a scheduled inspection.

 

A crack in a high stress U/C component is most likely not suitable for monitoring without repair. 

I'd concur with this.

I flew an Auster Autocrat (light aircraft) in the UK and the cowlings had lots of small stress cracks in them.  Each time a new one appeared our engineer would stop-drill it to prevent further propogation of the crack.  It flew on for years like this.

However, if any cracks appeared on the undercarriage, this would not have been appropriate.

4 hours ago, pete43 said:

Just about all of what you have written is rubbish, except the first paragraph, but heavy landings is irrelevant.

The fact that it was discovered during a routine NDI shows that it is a known problem for ALL F-16s at that particular mod. state (some aircraft may have been modified or built to a different standard which alleviates the problem)

 

Stop drilling will NOT be an option in ANY high stress component like U/C. 

Flight maintenance is carried out by whoever is qualified and available. This was NOT part of flight maintenance, but a scheduled inspection.

 

A crack in a high stress U/C component is most likely not suitable for monitoring without repair. 

Have you been a rigger in your former life? I spent 25 years in the RAF,, and about 12 years on first, second and third line maintenance of aircraft, so I figure that I have some idea of what I am talking about.

 

NDI testing has been carried out on military aircraft since the 1060/s that I know of and any aircraft that pulled in excess of 9G or had a heavy landing was pulled off the line for further and deeper checks.

 

At every after flight check the G recorder was looked at and the figures recorded, certainly on fighter aircraft, and on any aircraft that was highly stressed.

 

I have no idea of what is done on the F16 as I worked on British aircraft.