An F-35 jet crashed during a routine exercise near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida late Tuesday, the second crash involving an advanced aircraft in less than a week.
The F-35 pilot “successfully ejected” and was taken to a hospital on Elgin Air Force Base “for evaluation and monitoring,” the Air Force said in a statement, describing the pilot as being in a “stable condition.”
The aircraft “was participating in a routine night training sortie,” according to the statement, which said “there was no loss of life or damage to civilian property.”
The F-35A is one of the most advanced aircraft in the US military’s inventory, and crashes involving the jet are rare.
On Friday, a F-22 fighter jet also crashed near Eglin Air Force Base during a training exercise.
Both accidents are under investigation.
The Air Force’s variant of the F-35 currently has a per unit cost of about $90 million.
