A pilot ejected safely from a military plane after a failed landing that was caught on camera in North Texas.
The F-35B nosed over and spiraled after its wheels touched down briefly on the common runway at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth.
Video taken by people watching the plane arrive shows it slowly descending in a straight line as smoke appears from the rear of the plane before the nose sinks into the runway and the jet don’t stop.
The F-35B has special modifications that allow it to take off and land vertically like a helicopter.
(Photo: Kitt Wilder)
At the Pentagon, a spokesman said the plane was being flown at the time of the crash by a US government pilot, although it had not yet been transferred to the military by manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
The pilot ejected safely, according to Pentagon spokesman Air Force Gen. Pat Ryder.
Driver status is unknown.
Local police helped drive away a growing crowd of people who had stopped on a road or walked after the plane went down.
(Photo: Kitt Wilder)
“You never want to get that call that there’s a plane down,” said White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook.
“We have a much-appreciated place in our community for the military. White Settlement is a military community.”
A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin, the company that makes the plane involved, said in a statement they were aware of the crash and believed the pilot was safe.
“Safety is our priority and we will follow proper investigation protocol,” he added.
The damaged jet on the Fort Worth runway (Photo: KDFW via AP)
The failed landing came just over a month later two historic military aircraft collided during an airshow 40 miles away at Dallas Executive Airport, killing six people.
A National Transportation Safety Board report said there was no coordination of altitudes during pre-flight briefings or while planes were in the air.
