A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II crashed shortly after taking off from Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) in New Mexico.
The F-35 fighter jet was being transferred by Lockheed Martin at the time of the incident. It had refueled at Kirtland Air Force Base adjacent to ABQ and was en route from Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The aircraft had just taken off from Runway 21 when it crashed. The pilot, who ejected from the fighter and sustained serious injuries, was hospitalized in stable condition. Two civilian bystanders near the crash site underwent medical assessment but did not require hospitalization.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash. It is uncertain which variant of the F-35 was involved and who the aircraft’s ultimate recipient was.
On September 17, 2023, a US Marine Corps F-35B fighter jet went missing in South Carolina after the pilot ejected. The aircraft was on autopilot and flew until it ran out of fuel. The US military sought public assistance to locate the aircraft. The next day, a debris field was found in Williamsburg County.