An F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron crashed upon landing around 9:30 p.m., May 19, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The pilot successfully ejected and was transported to the 96th Medical Group Hospital for evaluation and monitoring.
The pilot is in stable condition. At the time of the accident, the pilot was participating in a routine night training sortie.
First responders from the 96th Test Wing are on the scene and the site is secured. The accident is under investigation. There was no loss of life or damage to civilian property.
The name of the pilot is not being released this time.
The 58th FS is assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin. The wing is a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing for the F-35A, B and C and falls under Air Education Training Command. Its mission is to train U.S. Air Force operators and maintainers on employment and maintenance of the F-35 Lightning II “A” model, as part of the overall 33rd FW mission of training American and international aircrews and maintainers of U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and international air forces.
This is the second crash involving an aircraft at Eglin in less than a week. On May 15, an F-22 assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron,†part of the 325th Fighter Wing currently based at Eglin AFB, crashed 12 miles northeast of Eglin main base on the test and training range.
The mission was a routine training flight with the 33rd Fighter Wing. A board of officers will investigate the accident.