The jet crashed during the landing phase of a flight at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska - with horror video footage showing the moment the plane hits the ground before erupting into flames
15:26, 29 Jan 2025
This is the terrifying moment an F-35 fighter jet crashed into an air base and bursts into flames after a malfunction during a training exercise.
The jet crashed during the landing phase of the flight at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska and around 25 miles south of Fairbanks, the largest city in the interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The crash, which occurred early Tuesday afternoon, caused significant damage to the aircraft, the Air Force said in a statement.
The $81m (£65m) F-35A Lightning II appeared to spin out of control during a training mission at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The incident occurred at 12.49 pm within the fence line of the airbase. The shocking footage shows the pilot with an open parachute after ejecting.
The US Air Force pilot was reported to be safe after he experienced an "inflight malfunction" but was able to eject from the aircraft, Colonel Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing, told a news conference. The pilot had declared an inflight emergency prior to the crash and was in stable condition and being evaluated at a medical facility, he said.
Colonel Townsend said in the statement said the Air Force would conduct "a thorough investigation in hopes to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again." He added the aircraft had been in a "landing phase".
Eielson was selected in 2016 to host 54 F-35s, spawning an expansion that cost more than a half-billion dollars that was to include 36 new buildings and dozens of housing units. The expansion included about 3,500 new active duty airmen and their dependents.
With the capability to fly more than 12 hours at a time, the F-35 can reach almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in one mission. In May last year, an F-35 fighter jet on its way from Texas to Edwards Air Force Base near Los Angeles crashed after the pilot stopped to refuel in New Mexico. The pilot was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
And later in the year, in October, a Marine investigation blamed the pilot of an F-35 for ejecting from the aircraft when he didn't need to, causing the fighter to fly unmanned for 11 minutes before it crashed in rural South Carolina in 2023.