The Air Force in Florida, in its statement, stated that an F-35A Joint Strike Fighter crashed at the Air Force Base during a routine training flight.
As per officials, the pilot successfully ejected and was later admitted to the hospital where he is now in stable condition.
As per the release, an F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron of the 33rd Wing crashed. It further states that there was no major loss of life or any civilian properties, Military.com reported.
The crash occurred nearly 12 miles from Eglin during the test training range.
A thorough investigation is underway to find the lack thereof.
This is another crash that happened in Eglin, Florida. This is the latest accident that marked the second American F-35 crash within two years. On a routine training flight last Friday morning near Eglin, an F-22 Raptor crashed.
In September 2018, a Marine Corps F-35B belonging to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 crashed in South Carolina. It was further stated that an investigation is required to know the potential problems before the aircraft flies again.
A similar incident happened in Japan as well in the year 2019 when a Japanese F-35A variant crashed after 30 minutes of taking off, which ultimately caused the jet to crash into the Pacific Ocean.
The F-35 series is an expensive programme that cost over $1 trillion. As per official sources, the Pentagon has requested to cut expenses where it can be hoped to slash the F35’s price to $80 million per jet.(WION)