Video posted on social media over the weekend shows the stealth fighter that crashed on a US Navy aircraft carrier last month bursting into flames as it strikes the flight deck of the massive warship.
On the 6th of February, a video circulating on social media revealed what happened to the F-35C fighter jet that crashed into the South China Sea and sank into the deep sea on January 24.
According to the report, from the point of view of the video shooting, it comes from the “Carl Vinson” aircraft carrier’s pilot landing assistance TV camera and another perspective on the island of the aircraft carrier. From the video footage, it can be seen that the F-35C, which was intended to land, was flying at an unusual rate of descent toward the aircraft carrier deck. The landing signal officer could be heard screaming in horror and tried to radio the pilot to immediately abort the landing.
But it was too late. The video shows that the rear half of the F-35C slammed into the deck heavily, and the huge impact immediately shredded the main landing gear, and then the fighter bounced on the deck and began to slide sideways, and was engulfed by flames. The ship’s crew called fire emergency management.
The video cuts to another camera shot from the island and shows the aftermath of the crash. The footage begins with the landing signal officer asking the pilot to increase power on the final approach, and the pilot parachutes when the plane fails to land mid-deck, skids all the way and is engulfed in flames. The F-35C then dragged a huge plume of smoke and flames and plunged directly into the sea along the angled deck of the aircraft carrier. Although it only missed hitting other fighter jets in the vicinity, some burning debris still flew to other aircraft parked on the deck, and the emergency crew of the aircraft carrier quickly stepped in to put out the fire.
The leaked video was first posted on the social networking site Reddit and then quickly spread, the report said. Although the publisher of the video did not disclose the specific source, and the U.S. Navy has not confirmed the authenticity of the video, the report believes that the video is completely consistent with the details of the F-35C crash that the outside world has learned so far, and has a very high degree of credibility.
The crash of the F-35C is obviously not the “common cause” such as the rupture of the arresting cable that was previously guessed. Judging from the reaction of the ship’s personnel, it does not seem like a sudden bird crash, but more Like a clumsy landing failure. Generally speaking, these types of accidents have a high probability of human error, most likely the pilot chose the wrong glide angle when landing. But the U.S. Navy pilots who are allowed to fly the F-35C stealth fighter should be all experienced veterans. Why would such a relatively low-level accident occur during landing? The specific reason may still have to wait for the results of the Pentagon investigation.