A pilot miraculously escaped after crashing from an F-35 fighter jet moments before it hit the ground and exploded in a fireball.
The $135 million plane nearly crashed Tuesday afternoon at Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico, sending up a large plume of smoke and injuring the pilot.
The plane had left Fort Worth, Texas, and was headed to Edwards Air Force Base, near Los Angeles, when it crashed into a hillside on the south side of the airfield.
The military fighter jet crashed after the pilot stopped to refuel at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, manufacturer Lockheed Martin said.
The pilot, the only person on board, was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries and was last reported to be in stable condition.
A $135 million F-35 fighter jet nearly crashed Tuesday afternoon at Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico, sending up a large plume of smoke and injuring the pilot.
Emergency workers respond to the crash of a military aircraft near Albuquerque International Airport on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
The plane had just taken off from Albuquerque and was headed to a base in Southern California when it crashed near the international airport around 2 p.m.
Emergency crews arrived on scene Tuesday afternoon and the pilot was reportedly conscious when he was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital.
Authorities have not revealed any cause of the crash, but witnesses said KOB4 that the plane appeared to have some kind of problem shortly before taking off from the runway.
Patrick White, who was driving in the area at the time of the crash, told The Associated Press that he saw the plane crawling to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust.
He said he briefly disappeared from his line of sight and then saw “a huge plume of black smoke.”
The military fighter jet crashed after the pilot stopped to refuel at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, manufacturer Lockheed Martin said. Emergency crews are photographed at the scene.
Flights resumed from the airport and the pilot, the only person on the plane, was reportedly conscious while being transported.
As he passed the crash site, he said he saw a piece of the fighter plane in the middle of the road.
A spokesman for Kirtland Air Force Base, located just southeast of Sunport, said CBS News that the pilot had been “transporting” the F-35 from the Lockheed Martin facility at the Naval Air Reserve Station in Fort Worth to the base in Los Angeles.
It stopped at Kirtland Air Force Base around 1:00 pm to refuel and had just taken off for Edwards Air Force Base when the plane crashed near the airfield.
Two civilians were also evaluated at the scene, CBS reported, but were not transported to the hospital.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller addressed X after the incident, tweeting: ‘Grateful for the quick action of first responders who arrived on scene. Praying for the pilot.
DailyMail.com has contacted Albuquerque police and both Air Force bases for more information.
Authorities have not revealed any cause of the crash, but witnesses told KOB4 that the plane appeared to have some type of problem shortly before taking off from the runway. In the photo you can see the equipment at the accident site.
Emergency crews appear at the scene Tuesday afternoon.
Located on the southern edge of Albuquerque, Kirtland is home to the 377th Air Base Wing, which conducts nuclear operations and trains and equips expeditionary forces. It also houses the Air Force Research Laboratory.
This is the second crash of a military aircraft in New Mexico in the last month.
In April, an F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed in a remote area near Holloman Air Force Base in the southern part of the state, leaving the pilot with minor injuries after being ejected from the plane.