The United States Navy announced the recovery of a F-35C Lightning II while performing routine operations in the South China Sea.
The accident occurred on January 24, when the aircraft was trying to land on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. The F-35C ended up colliding against the ship's deck, causing the aircraft to skid across the deck until it fell into the sea.
Although the pilot ejected safely, six sailors aboard the ship were injured, but without fatalities.
The images appeared on the internet show the collision of the fighter against the ship's deck from two angles. The first is the PLAT Cam (Pilot Landing Aid Television), used by landing signal officers (LSO) to assist pilots during the approach and landing on the vessel. The other is from a camera mounted on the so-called island, command superstructure and control tower of the ship.
According to Portal The Drive, for the recovery mission, the US Navy employed a remotely controlled underwater vehicle. Named CURV-21, this vehicle has sonar and cameras that help in locating objects on the seabed, including lifting objects.
After the CURV-21 used its lifting hook on the F-35C, the aircraft was lifted to the surface. Now, the aircraft must go through a thorough verification of the components to assess the damage caused.
Although the Navy has released few official details about the accident, called a ramp strike, no advisories or warnings to the fleet about technical aspects of the F-35 and its landing system have been published. The institution also did not order safety stops or aircraft grounding as it had done in previous accidents.
The fighter belonged to the VFA-147 Argonauts squadron, the first Navy unit to employ the F-35 in service. The accident also occurred during the first operational trip with the stealth fighter.
With information: The Drive
