The U.S. Air Force attributed the crash of an F-35 on the runway at Eielson Air Force Base in January to water that froze in the landing gear struts.

The F-35A operated out of Eielson AFB by the 355th Fighter Squadron crashed near the runway on Jan. 28. The pilot ejected from the aircraft and received non-life threatening injuries. The aircraft, valued at $196.5 million, was destroyed upon impact. On Tuesday, Pacific Air Forces released the Accident Investigation Board report.

USAF Col. Michael Lewis, president of the Accident Investigation Board, determined that the aircraft's nose landing gear did not retract properly due to hydraulic fluid contaminated with water, which froze.

The fighter jet was the third aircraft in a flight of four F-35A aircraft performing a training exercise. Th

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