Leaked footage showed it coming in too low for a landing, hitting the rear of the deck wing-first and then skidding and rotating across the flight deck before falling overboard. The pilot ejected and was injured, along with six sailors aboard the aircraft carrier.
The U.S. Navy says it has recovered an F-35C Lightning II aircraft that crashed while attempting to land on an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea in January, AP reports.
The 7th Fleet said a robot submarine attached rigging lines to the long-range joint strike stealth fighter, which was then raised from a depth of 3,780 meters (12,400 feet) on Wednesday using a ship’s crane.
The recovery alleviates concerns that China or Russia might reach it first and gain access to its advanced technology, whether to replicate it or learn how to defeat it.
The multimillion-dollar aircraft was conducting “routine flight operations” from the USS Carl Vinson when it crashed on Jan. 24, the 7th Fleet said.
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