VIDEO: F-35 Fighter Jet Catches Fire After Crashing at Albuquerque Sunport

New Mexico: A pilot was critically injured after a military aircraft crashed near New Mexico's Albuquerque International Sunport on Tuesday afternoon.

As per two Defence Department officials, it was a developmental model of the F-35 fighter jet, which was en route to Edwards Air Force Base and took off from Albuquerque.

As per the local media, the pilot ejected and was then rushed to the hospital "conscious and breathing."

A spokesperson of the Albuquerque Fire Department in a video statement released said that the crash occurred at around 2:00 pm local time. He added that the plane went down near the airfield on the southside of the Sunport and the pilot was conscious and taken to a nearby hospital.

Following the incident, Albuquerque's Mayor Tim Keller said, "Grateful for the rapid action of the first responders who arrived to the scene. Praying for the pilot."

The most recent crash of a US F-35 occurred last year on Sept 17, when a US Marine Corps F-35B crashed in South Carolina after the pilot ejected due to a malfunction. However, the aircraft continued flying for about 60 miles before crashing in a field nearby. The incident led to a day-long search for the wreckage, which was eventually found in a field.

Furthermore, in 2022, an F-35B crashed while doing a vertical landing at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas.