CBS is reporting a “developmental model” of an F-35B crashed shortly after takeoff at Albuquerque International Sunport on Tuesday. The pilot flying the aircraft was seriously injured after ejecting from the fighter. He was described as being in stable condition at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Two people on the ground were also checked by first responders but were not taken to the hospital. The plane came down near the airport next to a road, and local firefighters put out the post-crash fire.
The aircraft was on a ferry flight from the Lockheed Martin facility at the Naval Air Reserve Station in Fort Worth to Edwards Air Force Base. It stopped at Albuquerque for fuel. The F-35B is the vertical takeoff and landing version of the type used in carrier operations. The nature of its business at Edwards was not released.
