WATCH: F-35B fighter pilot ejects ‘successfully’ as aircraft crashes near Fort Worth in Texas

Fort Worth (Texas): The pilot of a Lockheed Martin F-35B military aircraft ejected “successfully” after the fighter plane made a hard landing off a runway near the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas on Thursday.

The pilot ejected “successfully,” according to a statement from the company.

A video of the incident shows the military aircraft taking off and hovering, then later trying to land for a second before tipping forward on its nose and skidding on the runway. The front wheels appear to collapse beneath the weight of the aircraft. The plane then made a spin of nearly 180 degrees before the pilot ejects from the jet.

#Breaking New much clearer video, courtesy Kitt Wilder, of STOL variant F35 B model landing JRB Fort Worth, and pilot ejects. Condition of pilot still unknown. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/BeERIeyhtO

— Doug Dunbar (@cbs11doug) December 15, 2022

The local police said they responded around 10:15 a.m. to a request from the Defense Department and Lockheed Martin about the crash, which was on military property near the flight line.

The pilot is safe and under observation and there were no reports of fire, police said.

The Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II STO/VL aircraft is flown by the US Marine Corps and is used for expeditionary and remote flight operations. The aircraft is also capable of long-range supersonic speed. It is also used by the United Kingdom and Italy.

Lockheed Martin, which shares a runway with the air force base, in a statement after the incident, said, “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. Safety is our priority, and we will follow appropriate investigation protocol.”

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