A U.S. Air Force pilot safely ejected before his stricken F-35 Lightning II single-seat fighter jet crashed and exploded during a training exercise Tuesday at Eielson Air Force Base southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska.
AP reports the pilot experienced an “inflight malfunction” but was able to escape the doomed aircraft, Col. Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing, told a news conference.
WATCH: Graphic vision shows doomed F-35 plunge to the ground
The incident occurred during the landing phase of the flight at Eielson Air Force Base, he said.
Eielson Air Force Base is about 25 miles south of Fairbanks.
Townsend said in the statement the Air Force would conduct “a thorough investigation in hopes to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again.”
The F-35s are long-range supersonic fighter jets with stealth capability that can reach anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in one mission, Anchorage Daily News reports.
A US Air Force F-35 fighter jet crashed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, with the pilot safe after ejecting. (Elif Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
There are 54 of the fighter jets stationed at Eielson, which is located about 25 miles southeast of Fairbanks. The last two arrived at the base in 2022.
Two squadrons of F-22 Raptor fighter jets are also stationed with the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage.
