A pilot was involved in an F-35 crash in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday
Investigators are looking into what caused an F-35 to crash at a Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, where the pilot ejected successfully.
A Lockheed Martin F-35 jet crashed in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday morning, with the pilot ejecting shortly after losing control of the aircraft on the ground.
Fox station KDFW in Dallas reported that the incident happened at about 10:15 a.m. on the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, which is shared with aircraft maker Lockheed Martin. In the cockpit was an Air Force pilot, a defense official told Fox News.
An F-35 jet crashed at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth on Thursday, and the pilot ejected safely from the aircraft. (Kitt Wilder, KDFW)
Kitt Wilder captured the incident on video, which shows the plane nearly hovering, though slowly descending.
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The plane’s landing gear eventually hits the ground before the aircraft bounces and the nose dives into the ground.
The F-35B then went into a spin when the pilot was seen ejecting from the cockpit.
Very close view of an F-35 Lightning II (iStock)
In an interview with KDFW after the crash, White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook said his department responded after receiving multiple emergency calls for assistance.
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One call, he said, was from the Naval Air Station, and the other came from Lockheed Martin.
"The call was that a military aircraft had crashed on the base, it’s on their perimeter side of the fence, and that the pilot had ejected," Cook said.
Despite the crash taking place on federal land, local law enforcement was called to control traffic on roads nearby, as many people were stopping to see what was happening on the base.
"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."
According to Lockheed, the F-35 program has an "exceptional safety record," for such a complex, global aircraft that spans 16 nations and three U.S. military services.
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To date, the F-35 fleet has flown more than 602,000 cumulative flight hours and more than 880 F-35s have been delivered by Lockheed Martin.
Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.
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