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2022 Aircraft F-35C Crash

Navy launching first local F-35C from an aircraft carrier
Accident
Date	January 24, 2022
Summary	Aircraft carrier collision
Site	South China Sea
Aircraft type	F-35C
Injuries	7

2022 F-35C Lightning II crash

An F-35C attempted to land aboard the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier on January 24, 2022, while the carrier was engaged in routine flight operations in the South China Sea (U.S. Navy recovers F-35C from South China Sea). The pilot lost control of the aircraft while descending, performing a ramp hit against the carrier, rotating 180 degrees, and catching fire before plummeting off the side of the carrier into the water. Videos of the collision were released to social media, which helped draw attention to the incident. The 34,800-pound plane plummeted 12,400 feet as a result. The pilot ejected before the ship crashed surviving and being sent to the hospital. Including the pilot seven crewmembers of the aircraft carrier were injured, none were fatal (Extracted F-35 jet fighter below China Sea).

Recovery

The F-35C was at the bottom of the sea for five weeks before it was located by the United States Navy located and retrieved it. After the accident Phoenix International contracted with a commercial ship called the Picasso and under SUPLAV's supervision Phoenix brought in equipment specialized for ocean recovery to pull out the 34,800 pound jet. One of the reasons for the delay in recovering the jet was the transportation time of Phoneix's equipment to the South China Sea. Once the equipment arrived they released a robot to survey the ocean floor in a pattern that is said to be able to search within a 25-square-mile area within 24 hours (Extracted F-35 jet fighter below China Sea). After locating the jet with this technique a device similar to a crane called CURV-21 was remotely operated to rig the jet with specialized rigging lines and lift the jet out of the water with a hook to load it onto Picasso (LaGrone). The total time taken between when the jet crashed to when the jet surfaced out of the water for recovery was 38 days and 27 nights (Extracted F-35 jet fighter below China Sea).

USS Carl Vinson

SUPSALV

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) is in charge of heading all ocean engineering matters. This includes events such as "salvaging, in-water ship repairs, towing, diving safety, and operational assistance to the United States Navy" (SUPSALV). SUPSALV is normally called upon when very complicated, hard, or dangerous tasks in the ocean require solving (THE DIRECTOR OF OCEAN ENGINEERING).

Works Cited

Nearly Three Decades and a Trillion Dollars Later, Lockheed Martin's F-35C Aircraft Are Finally Off on Their First      Deployment Aboard the Carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70).]” National Review (New York), vol. 73, no. 16, 2021, p.      7. THE DIRECTOR OF OCEAN ENGINEERING, SUPERVISOR OF      SALVAGE AND DIVING] (SUPSALV).” Naval Forces, 2005,      p. 70. The U.S. Navy Extracted a F-35 Jet Fighter from 12,400      Feet Below the South China Sea.]” Airguide Business,      2022. LaGrone, Sam. “Updated: Navy Recovers Crashed F-35C from Depths of South China Sea.” USNI News, 3 Mar. 2022,      news.usni.org/2022/03/03/navy-recovers-crashed-f-35c-from-depths-of-south-china-sea “U.S. Navy Recovers F-35C from South China Sea.” United States Navy, [https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-%0AStories/Article/2953540/us-navy-recovers-f-35c-from-south-china-%0Asea/#:~:text=The%20F%2D35C%20Lightning%20II%2C%20assigned%20to%20Carrier%20Air%20Wing,24. https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-      Stories/Article/2953540/us-navy-recovers-f-35c-from-south-china-      sea/#:~:text=The%20F%2D35C%20Lightning%20II%2C%20assigned%20to%20Carrier%20Air%20Wing,24.]