The pilot tried two touch-and-go landings in an effort to realign the jammed nose gear, but both attempts failed, leaving the landing gear completely locked.
A US Air Force F-35 pilot was forced to eject after spending nearly an hour on a mid-air conference call with engineers, trying to resolve a malfunction which eventually caused the fighter jet to crash on an Alaska runway.
Footage posted online shows the aircraft spiralling before slamming into the ground and bursting into flames, while the pilot descended safely by parachute in January.
According to a CNN-obtained report, ice in the hydraulic lines of the nose and main landing gear prevented them from deploying properly. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot tried to retract the landing gear without success, and when lowering it again, the nose wheel locked at an angle.
50-minute-long call before crash
As the pilot attempted to troubleshoot, the jetโs systems mistakenly registered that it was already on the ground, leading to serious control issues. He then joined a call with five Lockheed Martin engineers and circled the base for about 50 minutes while they worked through potential fixes.
The pilot attempted two โtouch and goโ landings in hopes of freeing the jammed gear, but both efforts failed, freezing the landing system entirely. With the aircraft becoming uncontrollable, he had no choice but to eject.
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program under fire
An Air Force investigation later found that around a third of the hydraulic fluid in the nose and right main landing gear contained water. Just over a week later, another jet at the same base experienced a similar hydraulic icing problem, though it landed safely. At the time of the crash, temperatures had dropped to -18 degrees Celsius.
The report concluded that the mishap was driven not only by the icing issue but also by decision-making during the in-flight troubleshooting and by poor oversight of the hazardous material programme.
Lockheed Martinโs F-35 programme has long faced scrutiny over costs and production issues. The jetโs price has dropped from about USD 135.8 million in 2021 to USD 81 million in 2024 under a new defence deal, yet total lifetime costs are projected to exceed USD 2 trillion, with the programme expected to run until 2088.
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