An F-35A has crashed into the ground on 30 January 2025 during landing at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The pilot has ejected safely and reported to be in a stable condition.
By: Yu Le
Published on: 31 January 2025, 2.41 p.m. (GMT+8)
After an “inflight malfunction”, an F35 Lightning II crashed during a training mission at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. The pilot managed to eject from the jet before impact with the ground.
Footage from the crash shows the aircraft dropping from the sky, spiraling with its landing gears out. This potentially indicates a stall resulting from the malfunction. A huge fireball erupted, illuminating the sky as the pilot was seen falling down slowly in his parachute. The pilot is in stable condition and is currently staying at Bassett Army Hospital for further observations. Before the crash, the pilot declared an inflight emergency.
In a statement, Colonel Paul Townsend said, “I can assure you the United States Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation in hopes to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again.”
The F-35 is a single-engine 5th generation multirole combat aircraft designed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force, Navy and Marines, as well as for sale to multiple allies around the world. It is equipped with many modern technologies which include electronic warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
The aircraft involved in this incident was an F-35A, the version used by the United States Air Force. This is the third crash in a three year span involving the F-35, with an F-35B crashing in South Carolina and another developmental test F-35B crashing not long after takeoff in New Mexico in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
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