NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Seven U.S. Navy sailors were injured during an F-35 ‘landing mishap’ on Monday in the South China Sea.
The pilot of the F-35C Lightning II was attempting to land on the San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during routine flight operations, the Navy says. The pilot, who was able to eject, was picked up by a Navy helicopter and listed in stable condition.
Six others on deck were injured, and three were medevaced. As of Tuesday, all three were listed in stable condition.
The details of the mishap are still under investigation, and the Navy was still in the process of recovering the jet.
CNN reports its the first crash for the F-35C, the Navy’s variant of the single-engine stealth fighter. It was the last of the F-35 variants to become operational when it did so in 2019, and the Carl Vinson was the first of the Navy’s 11 carriers to deploy with the jet last August.
The Carl Vinson is currently conducting dual-carrier operations with the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group in the South China Sea near Taiwan, according to the US Naval Institute.