Extraordinary Video Emerges Of Pilot Ejecting From F-35B Fighter Jet Crash In Fort Worth

F-35B Fighter

Getty Image


Wild video of a pilot ejecting from a F-35B Lightning II fighter jet at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas emerged online on Thursday.

According to NBC DFW News, the incident was reported to White Settlement Police at around 10:15 a.m. local time Thursday morning.

U.S. Navy Police and Lockheed Martin had contacted local law enforcement to assist in clearing onlookers from a road that runs adjacent to the runway near where the crash occurred.

“When we got here, there were people in the middle of the highway,” White Settlement Chief of Police Christoper Cook said. “Certainly we had to clear up all of that, from a safety perspective.”

Cook added the pilot of the Lockheed-owned jet ejected and the pilot’s seat and parachute were visible near the aircraft, but he had no specific information about the pilot’s condition.

In video of the accident, the aircraft was landing vertically when it appeared to bounce off the runway.

The jet continued to bounce while the engines roared before the tail lifted up, driving the nose of the fighter jet into the ground.

When that occurred, the front landing gear became detached, sending the jet into a spin and pointing it in the opposite direction.

It was around that moment that the pilot can be seen ejecting from the damaged aircraft.

As the pilot parachuted to the ground, the F-35B Lightning II fighter jet slid forward a few feet, coming to rest in a grassy area off to the side of the runway.

“We are aware of the F-35B crash on the shared runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth and understand that the pilot ejected successfully,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement. “Safety is our priority, and we will follow appropriate investigation protocol.”

Joseph Trevithick of The War Zone reported that the video provides a clear look the functionality of “the so-called ‘zero-zero’ capabilities of the jet’s Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat, with it safely functioning with aircraft on the ground and essentially stopped.”

Coincidentally, Dec. 15 is the anniversary of the first flight of the F-35A in 2006.

Last year in September, NBC DFW News reports, a Navy T-45C Goshawk jet trainer out of Corpus Christi crashed in Lake Worth near the base. Both pilots were able to eject before the impact, but did suffer injuries.

Douglas Charles headshot avatar BroBible
Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.