Leaked video shows F-35 crashing in flames on U.S. aircraft carrier
CTV
A video posted on social media over the weekend shows the stealth fighter that crashed on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier last month bursting into flames as it strikes the flight deck of the massive warship.
The F-35C, the newest fighter in the Navy fleet, is seen on a video monitor from inside the USS Carl Vinson, which was on operations in the South China Sea when the accident occurred on Jan. 24.
The footage shows two angles of the incident from separate cameras, and both show the jet on approach to the aircraft carrier. In one close-up view the plane hits the deck, bursts into flames and then spins in front of the camera full frame. The second angle captures the fiery wreck as it careens along the deck then slides off into the water.
As the US$100 million fighter makes its approach to the vessel, crew can be heard yelling "Wave off, wave off," the term used for a plane to abort a landing attempt, accelerate and fly around to try again. But the warning to the pilot comes too late to avoid the crash.
"That's really, really scary," said Peter Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer now at the Griffith Asia Institute.
