A U.S. Navy investigation has reportedly blamed pilot error for an F-35C Lightning II jet fighter jet that crashed into the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the South China Sea last year.
shared report Working with Military.com, investigators concluded that the Jan. 24 crash — involving the USS Carl Vinson — was the result of the pilot choosing to perform a dedicated landing but failing to turn on the plane’s electronic assistant .
Video of the incident circulated on social media and several crew members were injured. The pilot managed to eject safely.
The crash caused millions of dollars in damage to the other aircraft and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the carrier deck, reports said.
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An F-35C stealth jet sits on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the western Pacific south of Japan. (Reuters/Tim Kelly)
it only passes his rank of lieutenant And said he wanted to try a “rapid recovery strategy” called “Sierra Hotel Break,” or SHB.
The outlet said the Navy described SHB as “when an aircraft turns downwind from behind or over the top of a ship… [using] G forces decelerate during a 360 degree turn and lower the landing gear when the aircraft is below the gear transition speed. It said pilots had “less time to configure the aircraft and conduct landing checks.” “
The Lieutenant reportedly did not engage Approach Power Compensation Mode (APC) or Delta Flight Path (DFP). APC keeps the jets at the correct angle and DFP automatically adjusts the throttle.
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Heavy chains are seen on board the USS Carl Vinson at Thien Sa Port in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 6, 2018. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
The landing signalman told the pilot to activate the afterburner at the moment captured on video, and the entire incident lasted about four or five minutes.
The plane sank into the sea and was recovered by the navy last March.
The Navy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s repeated requests for comment, but Navy spokesman Cmdr. Zach Harrell told Military.com that the pilot “is no longer in flight status with the U.S. Navy but will continue to serve as a Navy officer. “
On November 3, 2014, U.S. Navy test pilot Tony Wilson used the tailhook system to land an F-35C Joint Strike Fighter on an aircraft carrier for the first time. (Reuters/Mike Black)
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Investigators issued a series of recommendations to prevent further incidents and said the Navy does not recommend ending the accelerated recovery exercise, or SHB.
Fox News’ Greg Norman, Bradford Betz and Lucas Y. Tomlinson contributed to this report.
