F-35 fighter jet crashes in California, pilot ejects safely
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — An F-35C Lightning II assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, takes off for a mission during Red Flag-Nellis 22-3, July 12, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service - DVIDS)
An F-35 fighter jet crashed near Naval Air Station Lemoore in central California, the U.S. Navy said on Wednesday.
"The pilot successfully ejected and is safe. There are no additional affected personnel," a statement from NAS Lemoore said.
No further details on the crash were provided. The cause of the crash is under investigation, the statement said.
U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin , the maker of F-35 fighter jets, said in response to a Reuters request for comment that it was aware of the F-35 incident at Naval Air Station Lemoore.
(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Additional Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan and Ananya Palyekar, Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Pooja Desai // REUTERS)
