This screenshot from the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page shows an F-16 Fighting Falcon after a mishap at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Aug. 17, 2023. (Facebook)

TOKYO — An F-16 Fighting Falcon that apparently collapsed on a runway in northeast Japan last week never left the ground, a Misawa Air Base spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Photographs posted Monday by the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook group appear to show the damaged fighter accompanied by emergency vehicles Thursday on Misawa’s runway. The plane was tilted to its left, its wing almost touching the ground.

The jet was taxiing when the incident occurred, 35th Fighter Wing spokeswoman Capt. Josephine Rios told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.

The wing had provided incorrect information Monday, she said.

“It was not a hard landing,” she said. “The jet didn’t take off.”

The aircraft was moved off the runway after the incident, Sgt. Chris Jacobs, another wing spokesman, said by phone Monday morning.

Commercial flights at Misawa Airport, which shares the runway with the air base, were unaffected, Jacobs said.

“There were no delays or cancellations to commercial flights or operations and no injuries were sustained,” he said in an email Monday afternoon. “An investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the ground emergency.”

The Air Force can’t release details about damage to the aircraft during an ongoing investigation of the incident, Jacobs said.

“Additionally, due to the nature of the investigation, we do not anticipate that the findings will be releasable to the public,” he said.