A pilot ejected from a Lockheed Martin F-35B in Lightning II fighter jet during a failed landing at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth Thursday morning.
“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.”
Lockheed Martin assembles the fighter jet at a facility that shares the north-south 18/36 runway with the joint reserve base. Lockheed confirmed the crash and that the pilot ejected early Thursday afternoon, but offered no further update on the pilot’s condition.
At the Pentagon, a spokesman said that the aircraft was being flown at the time of the crash by a U.S. government pilot, although it had not been transferred to the military yet by manufacturer Lockheed Martin.