An Air Force pilot escaped seemingly certain death when he bailed out of his F-35A as it hurtled to the ground, ending in a fireball. An “inflight malfunction” during the training mission at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on Tuesday caused the $82.5 million jet to spiral with its nose gear extended during the landing phase of the flight, before it smashed into the runway. The airman, who had declared an inflight emergency before the crash, was seen in social media footage floating to safety with his parachute deployed. “The pilot is safe and has been transported to Bassett Army Hospital for further evaluation,” Col. Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing, said. “I can assure you the United States Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation in hopes to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again.” The 354th Fighter Wing stated that the lunchtime accident resulted in “significant aircraft damage.”
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