An F-35 fighter jet crashed near the Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico on Tuesday afternoon, and the pilot was seriously injured, officials said.
Per reports, a U.S. Air Force pilot was delivering the F-35 from maker Lockheed Martin's facility at the Naval Air Reserve Station in Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards Air Force Base in California, and had stopped at Kirtland AFB just southeast of the Sunport to refuel at around 1 p.m.
The aircraft had just taken off from Kirtland when the crash occurred, along University Boulevard near Rio Bravo Boulevard. Traffic in the area was blocked as firefighters worked at the scene.
An F-35 Fighter jet has crashed into a hillside in New Mexico.
— Eagle Eye (@zarrar_11PK) May 29, 2024
The fighter jet went down near International Sunport in Albuquerque while travelling to an Air Force base in California.
The pilot, survived the crash but was seriously injured, according to officials. pic.twitter.com/HvUFfknFbe
Albuquerque Fire Rescue spokesperson Lt. Jason Fejer said in a video posted on social media that multiple agencies responded to the crash shortly before 2 p.m. The pilot was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Two civilians in the area of the crash were assessed at the scene, and did not require transport to the hospital.
"Grateful for the rapid action of the first responders who arrived to the scene. Praying for the pilot," Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Fejer said Kirtland AFB would be taking over the investigation.
--with reporting by TMX
