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Updated November 18th, 2021 at 14:22 IST

UK F-35 jet crashes while flying off HMS Queen Elizabeth; pilot safe & probe begins

“A British F35 pilot from HMS Queen Elizabeth ejected during routine flying operations in the Mediterranean this morning [10 am, Wednesday],” UK’s MoD said.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
UK
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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A £100 million British F-35 stealth fighter jet of the UK military crashed into the Mediterranean Sea during a routine exercise on Wednesday, Nov. 17 while flying off UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, the British Defense ministry informed in a tweet. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is racing against time to recover the remains of the advanced warplane which includes top-secret radar and sensors that allow the F-35B to fly at supersonic speeds without being captured on the radar over fears that it may be found by enemy territory. 

“A British F35 pilot from HMS Queen Elizabeth ejected during routine flying operations in the Mediterranean this morning [10 am, Wednesday],” UK’s MoD spokesperson said in a Twitter update. “The pilot has been safely returned to the ship and an investigation has begun, so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time,” he added. 

Some wreckage found being protected by Anglo-US dive team

The accident of the single-engine, short-take-off vertical landing variant of the US-developed stealth jet occurred unexpectedly during routine flight operations, the British Ministry further informed. It stated that the pilot managed to evacuate the aircraft ahead of the crash and has returned safely to the ship. It remains unclear at this point whether the RAF's most advanced plane F-35B has crashed and landed in international waters but the British Armed Forces have scrambled to find its pieces before it gets into the hands of countries like Russia or China. 

Some of the wreckage, however, was found late Wednesday afternoon, the British media reported. The piece is being protected by an Anglo-US dive team and the aircraft wreck is expected to be removed by the UK Navy. There are an estimated 20 F-35B jets onboard UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth which are divided among the Royal Air Force and the US Marine Corps. The fighter pilot was rescued during a covert military operation launched by the UK and was pulled out of the sea by a Merlin helicopter, The Mirror confirmed.

At the time of the accident, there were at least UK F-35Bs, and close to ten US Marine Corps F-35Bs onboard HMS Elizabeth. “The most important thing is that the pilot has survived,” a source told The Mirror. Although it is yet to be established whether the mechanical glitch caused the warplane to crash into the sea, the sources have revealed that the British aircraft was probably at the “bottom of the sea”. 

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Published November 18th, 2021 at 14:22 IST

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