F-35 Accidents (2014–2025)

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has faced numerous controversies, investigations, and shortcomings in its development supply chain, resulting in persistent safety concerns since its first flight in 2006.

During this period, particularly since 2014, various accidents and incidents have sparked significant public and defense community debates regarding the operational reliability and technical competence of the F-35 platform. Below is a chronological account of F-35 accidents occurring since June 2014.

• June 2014: An F-35A at Eglin Air Force Base suffered an engine fire. The pilot escaped unharmed without using the ejection seat, while the aircraft sustained approximately 50 million USA dollars in damage.

^{Eglin Air Force, 2014.}  

^【1】

• September 2018: A fuel system failure occurred on an F-35B belonging to the US Marine Corps. The pilot ejected using the ejection seat.

• April 2019: A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-35A disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Investigations of debris recovered in 2019 determined that the aircraft had entered an abnormal condition but the pilot had not issued any control inputs for recovery. It became the first fatal accident involving an F-35.

• May 2020: An F-35A of the US Air Force took off from Eglin Air Force Base for a training flight. During landing, a malfunction caused the pilot to use the ejection seat and survive. The accident was attributed to a combination of pilot error due to fatigue, a design flaw in the oxygen system, the aircraft’s complex and distracting interface, a stuck display, and an unresponsive flight control system.

• September 2020: A US Marine Corps F-35B collided midair with a KC-130 belonging to the Marine Corps during aerial refueling and crashed. The pilot survived using the ejection seat; the KC-130 crashed into a field without deploying its landing gear.

• March 2021: During a night training flight near Marine Corps Air Station Yuma for air support weapons training, a 25 mm top pod mounted on an F-35B fired a round that detonated shortly after exiting the gun barrel. The pilot was uninjured and the aircraft remained grounded for a period for maintenance.

• November 2021: An F-35B belonging to the UK Royal Navy crashed during routine operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The cause was determined to be a motor cowl plug left in the engine inlet.

• January 2022: A South Korean Air Force F-35A made a gear-up landing after all systems except flight controls and engine failed.

• January 2022: An F-35C crashed into the sea while attempting to land on an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea. Seven personnel on board the carrier were injured; the pilot survived using the ejection seat. The aircraft’s wreckage was recovered from a depth of approximately 12,400 feet two moon later.

^【2】 

• October 2022: An F-35A at a US Air Force Base crashed upon landing on the runway. The accident was attributed to an error in the air data system caused by wake turbulence from the preceding aircraft.

• December 2022: An F-35B based at a Naval Air Station in Texas crashed during a test flight while attempting a vertical landing. The test pilot emerged unharmed.

• September 2023: An F-35B crashed during a training flight at MCAS Beaufort. The pilot escaped unharmed.



• May 2024: An F-35B that had taken off from Kirtland Air Force Base in Mexico crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot reportedly used the ejection seat and sustained injuries.

^{Near Albuquerque International Airport, Mexico, 2024.} 

^【3】

• January 2025: An F-35A at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska plummeted rapidly and struck the ground.

^【4】 

• July 2025: A US Navy F-35 fighter jet crashed near Lemoore Naval Air Station in California. The pilot successfully ejected using the escape system.