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The US military has confirmed the loss of an F-35 after footage of a fiery crash appeared online from Eielson Air Force Base.
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The fighter jet, landing gear extended in the footage, fell in an uncontrolled flat spin, passing in front of its own ejected pilot before striking the ground and exploding near an aircraft runway at the base on Tuesday.
A 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs statement confirmed that an aircraft crash occurred at 12:49 pm within the fence line of the base in Alaska. The pilot is safe and has been transported to Bassett Army Community Hospital for further evaluation, while emergency crews are responding, according to the statement.
“Our people are our most important resource, and we are committed to ensuring their safety and security,” said Colonel Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing.
“I can assure you the US Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident to minimise the chances of such occurrences from happening again.”
In addition, the 354th Fighter Wing command confirmed local traffic had been stopped on a nearby highway due to safety risks and the impeding of recovery efforts.
It comes after a developmental version of the F-35B crashed after take-off near Albuquerque International Airport, New Mexico, on 28 May.
That aircraft, worth approximately US$109 million, was en route from Naval Air Reserve Station in Texas to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California when the incident occurred.
Australian Aviation reported in December how the RAAF received the last of its 72 F-35s. The planes landed at RAAF Base Williamtown between November and December as part of Operation Lightning Ferry.
“As a multi-role fighter, the F-35A can perform air-to-air and air-to-surface missions, and utilise stealth technology, electronic protection, electronic attack and advanced countermeasures to maximise lethality and survivability,” Defence said in a press release.
The first two F-35As arrived in Australia on 10 December 2018, and these final nine are the first to receive the Technology Refresh-3 package, which includes additional munitions capabilities, target recognition, jamming, cyber security, sensor and user interface improvements, processing and data storage enhancements.
