-
A new F-35B crashed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Tuesday, leaving its pilot injured.
-
The jet was a new model being transferred from a Lockheed Martin facility to the US military, per reports.
-
F-35s have been reported to cost up to $135 million each, but it’s unclear how much this one was worth.
An F-35B Lightning II fighter jet crashed near the Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico on Tuesday, and its pilot has been seriously injured, local authorities said.
Fire rescue teams responded to the crash just before 2 p.m., and the pilot was sent to hospital while conscious, said Albuquerque Fire Rescue spokesperson Lt. Jason Fejer.
On May 28 at 13:54 AFR, BCFR & Kirtland AFB responded to University south of Rio Bravo for a plane crash. BCFR and AFR’s Batt 1 confirmed a downed aircraft on fire. The pilot was located & transported while fire was extinguished. Scene has been turned over to Kirtland. pic.twitter.com/P0aaMvuod0
— Albuquerque Fire (@abqfire) May 29, 2024
Two other civilians on the scene were assessed for injuries and released.
CBS News reported, citing two unnamed US officials, that the F-35 was a new developmental model being delivered to the US military from Lockheed Martin.
The jet was being transferred from a Lockheed Martin facility at Naval Air Reserve Station in Fort Worth, Texas, to the Edwards Air Force Base in southern California, per the outlet.
ABC News reported, citing one unnamed US official, that the jet crashed just after refueling in Albuquerque and was being flown by a pilot for a defense contract agency. The outlet also reported that the F-35 was new.
“Flight operations have resumed, but check with your airline for flight status,” airport officials wrote about three hours after the crash.
Fejer told NBC affiliate KOB that local fire crews needed assistance from Kirkland Air Force Base.
“We carry 500 gallons of water on our apparatus and small foam tanks, but it’s no match for a jet fuel fire of that scope,” said Fejer, per KOB.
The Albuquerque-based outlet published footage of firefighters spraying water on the smoldering wreckage of the F-35 with a main road in view.
Lockheed Martin and Kirkland Air Force Base did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
The last report of an F-35 crash was in September when a pilot ejected during training over South Carolina. The stealth fighter then went missing, flying about 80 miles before crashing.
F-35Bs have been reported to cost up to $135 million per fighter, but it’s unclear how much the jet that crashed on Tuesday was worth.
Read the original article on Business Insider
