5 US Sailors Facing Charges over Leaked F-35 Crash Video

The videos showed various angles of the crash, which occurred on January 24 on the USS Carl Vinson. The pilot and six sailors were injured as a result of the crash. The ship was stationed in the Philippines at the time of the incident, The Independent reported.

The sailors are being charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice's Article 92, which deals with individuals who have failed to obey an order or regulation. If the sailors are found to have violated Article 92, they would then be subject to court martial.

Though multiple videos were reportedly recorded, only one has leaked online.

The video – which military officials confirmed depicts the crash – shows the jet approaching the ship’s flight deck. Sailors can be heard yelling “wave off,” which is a way of telling the pilot to take another pass before landing on the ship.

However, the pilot does not, and the plane smashes into the ship’s flight deck, skidding along the surface and catching fire. After a momentary slide across the deck, the jet fell off the ship and into the South China Sea.

A different angle on the crash appeared to show the pilot ejecting as the fiery jet slid across the aircraft carrier. The US navy has not confirmed that an ejection did take place.

Another video shows the F-35 from a low angle just as it impacts the flight deck, though little else beyond the jet’s approach and initial contact can be seen in the footage.

Photos and video of the incident – including shots showing parts of the jet floating in the sea – were eventually leaked onto social media.

A military spokesman further told USNI News that the most recent leak was considered “a government document released without being properly cleared,” while the other images were treated differently, as they were captured by “a personal device.”

Beyond confirming the authenticity of the images making the rounds online, the US navy has released few details about the crash, saying only that “recovery operations arrangements” were in the works for the ill-fated fighter in late January.

The US military’s latest multi-purpose fighter jet, the F-35, has seen a long series of problems throughout its lifetime, including development delays, cost overruns, and equipment malfunctions. Earlier this year, South Korea – one among several nations to purchase the plane – was forced to ground its entire F-35 fleet after a landing gear fault resulted in a belly-landing at a Korean airbase. Another F-35 operated by the UK crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last November as it attempted takeoff from an aircraft carrier, reportedly caused after the plane sucked a rain cover into its own engine.