US fighter jet crashes in Florida, second accident in a week
An Air Force fighter jet crashed while landing at a Florida base, but the pilot was able to eject and survived. The F-35A Lightning II crashed Tuesday night on the base as the pilot returned from a routine training flight, the public affairs office at Eglin Air Force Base near Tampa said in a news release.
- World
- AFP
- Published Date: 07:52 | 20 May 2020
- Modified Date: 07:56 | 20 May 2020
A US fighter jet has crashed during a test flight in Florida, the air force said Wednesday, the second military air accident in a week in the state.
No one was hurt in the incident involving an F-35A Stealth jet as it tried to land Tuesday night, Eglin Air Force Base said in a statement. The pilot managed to eject and is in stable condition.
The crash caused no injuries to any civilians nor property damage at the base.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 is the most expensive weapons program in US military history, at a cost of nearly $400 billion to produce nearly 2,500 units in coming decades.
The F35-A is the version earmarked for the US Air Force. Each costs around $85 million.
A Stealth jet of the previous generation, F-22, crashed Friday around 15 miles (20 kilometers) from the Eglin base during a test flight. The pilot managed to eject safely that time, too.
Both crashes are under investigation, said the statement, released on the base's Twitter account in the early hours of Wednesday.