On Tuesday afternoon, a brand-new Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet crashed near Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico. The aircraft, recently built and being transferred from an assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards Air Force Base in California, met its unfortunate end when it slammed into a hillside.
The pilot, from the Defense Contract Management Agency, had refueled at Kirtland Air Force Base before the crash. He ejected from the F-35B and was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital with serious injuries. Fortunately, two civilians on the ground were evaluated but did not require hospitalization. An eyewitness, Patrick White, described seeing the aircraft flying low, kicking up dirt, and then disappearing from sight before a massive plume of black smoke appeared.
This incident is particularly noteworthy given the immense cost of the F-35 program, which exceeds $1 trillion. Such mishaps draw significant attention, especially considering past issues like the Marine Corps pilot who ejected from an F-35B in South Carolina last September, only for the plane to go missing for over 30 hours.
The Department of Defense is likely scrutinizing Lockheed Martin's refund policy following this crash. With the high stakes and even higher costs involved, every incident with the F-35 program raises serious concerns about safety and accountability.
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