Eagle Strike Caused S. Korean F-35A Emergency Landing

South Korea has confirmed that a bird strike to the F-35A fighter forced the pilot to make an emergency belly landing in January.

A 10kg eagle hit the jet's left air intake and penetrated a bulkhead into its weapons bay, damaging its hydraulic duct and power supply wiring that affected its navigation system and landing gear operation, Yonhap reported citing the country's military.

The incident occurred when the F-35A was making a low-altitude flight to enter a shooting range for an air-to-ground firing mission after taking off from an air base in Cheongju, 140km south of Seoul, officials said. The pilot emerged unscathed.

Investigators looked into the fighter's flight recorder, air traffic control radar track data and statements from the pilot to verify the cause of the emergency landing.