The United States Navy and Air Force operate two of the largest collections of military aircraft in the world. As such, crashes unfortunately happen, often thousands of miles from threat-rich hostile skies. Most recently, a US Navy F-35 crashed into a field near Fresno, California. But it’s just the latest military aircraft to go down this year. 

The US Navy is investigating an F-35C that crashed 40 miles from Fresno  

At around 6:30 p.m. on the 30th of July, a US Navy F-35C crashed into an open cotton field. While the cause of the crash isn’t clear, the Navy says the circumstances are “under investigation.”

The naval-variant F-35 took off from Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, though its flight took it within about 40 miles of Fresno, California, before the crash.. It was one of the long-range stealth fighter aircraft assigned to VFA-125, also known as the “Rough Raiders.”    

The pilot ejected safely before the F-35 hit the ground

Fortunately, the naval aviator ejected from the airplane before the crash. Military and local emergency crews located the pilot and treated him on the ground. 

According to ABC 30, officials said the pilot is “an experienced flyer.” This was no case of inexperience claiming a $100 million military aircraft.

Still, even an experienced pilot is lucky to walk away from an ejection. In the event of an emergency, a pilot can initiate the ejection, which releases the canopy and thrusts the seat assembly, pilot and all, free of the aircraft.

An ejector seat uses rocket propulsion to clear the immediate vicinity, then a parachute system to safely return the pilot to the ground. But forces can exceed 12 Gs during ejection– it’s no gentle process.  

This isn’t the first time this year that the US military has lost an F-35

Earlier this year, a US Air Force F-35A based at Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) in Alaska crashed on landing. Like the recent California crash, the pilot was able to eject and survive the incident.

You can check out a news video of the crash site below!