Few videos are as shocking as the one recorded by this citizen just a few days ago at a military base in Fort Worth, a city in the state of Texas. The clip, shared via Twitter, shows a spectacular crash of an F-35B fighterwhich, for reasons that are still unknown, collides with the track floor causing the pilot to be thrown into the air.
The video, just 37 seconds long and which already has more than 5 million views on Twitter, shows how the F-35B fighter, initially airborne, falls slowly as part of the process of an emergency vertical landing. The landing gear at first manages to considerably reduce the impact. The bounce of the wheels, however, causes the frontal area of the fighter to hit the ground of the runway. You can see how it moves a few meters between an increasingly extensive cloud of smoke.
Moments later, the pilot of the F-35B fighter seems to activate the mechanism that activates the ejection seat. This, precisely, is designed to save the lives of the occupants of the aircraft in an emergency. In the video you can see how the explosive charge that allows the expulsion of the seat takes effect. And therefore how the pilot is expelled for moments later to open the parachute.
Lockheed Martin, in charge of manufacturing the F-35B fighter, confirms that the pilot is safe
Fortunately, and as confirmed by Lockheed Martin, in charge of the development of the F-35B fighter that crashed last Thursday, December 15 in Fort Worth, the pilot who was ejected from the aircraft could get out alive. They do not know, however, what could have caused the accident.
“We are continuing to work with officers at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth after the F-35B crash”has detailed the company in a tweet published through the official account for this hunting model. They have also highlighted being “grateful that the pilot involved is safe” and have confirmed “supporting the investigation”.
It is not the first time that an accident with an F-35 fighter has been reported. In fact, in October, the United States Air Force confirmed a similar collision. An aircraft of this family crashed on the runway at Hill Air Force Base, in the state of Utah. In this case, the pilot was also able to eject and was transferred to a medical center.