People who were observing the plane’s approach captured footage of it gently descending in a straight line as smoke billows from the rear of the aircraft, before the jet’s nose digs into the runway and it spins to a stop.
A pilot evacuated safely from a military plane following a disastrous landing seen on film in north Texas.
After briefly touching down on the shared runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, the F-35B nosedived and spiraled.
People who were observing the plane’s approach captured footage of it gently descending in a straight line as smoke billows from the rear of the aircraft, before the jet’s nose digs into the runway and it spins to a stop.
Special upgrades allow the F-35B to take off and land vertically, similar to a helicopter.
Lockheed Martin had not yet delivered the aircraft to the military, even though it was being flown by a government pilot at the time of the incident, according to the Pentagon.
According to Pentagon spokesman Air Force General Pat Ryder, the pilot evacuated safely.
The unknown is the condition of the pilot.
After the jet crashed, local police officers assisted in keeping away a gathering crowd of people who had stopped on a road or walked over.
“You never want to receive the call that an airplane has crashed,” White Settlement police chief Chris Cook said.
“Our community has a great deal of respect for the soldiers. White Settlement is a community of service members.”
The manufacturer of the plane, Lockheed Martin, issued a statement indicating that they were aware of the incident and believed the pilot to be safe.
“Safety is our priority, and we will follow proper inquiry procedures,” the statement continued.
Six people were killed when two antique military aircraft collided during an airshow 64 kilometers (40 miles) away at the Dallas Executive Airport just over a month earlier.
According to a study by the National Transportation Safety Board, there was no coordination of altitudes during briefings before or during the flight.
