In Leaked Video, US Stealth Jet Slams Carrier Deck In South China Sea

A leaked video showing the crash of the US Air Force's most advanced fighter jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea has surfaced on the internet forum Reddit.

The grainy video uploaded by a Reddit user shows a flight deck camera on the USS Carl Vinson capturing the final moments before the F-35C stealth fighter jet slams the deck.

The impact destroys the tail stabiliser, the left wing come off and the jet hit the deck nose first. The rear section of the jet is burnt with fire ignited by the fuel tanks near the wings.

Seven US military personnel were injured in the incident on Monday.

"The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft and was recovered via US military helicopter," the US Navy said in a statement. "The pilot is in stable condition. There were seven total sailors injured," it said.

The F-35C jet is made by Lockheed Martin. Two US Navy carrier strike groups, led by the USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln began operations in the South China Sea last week. The carriers entered the disputed sea for training as Taiwan reported a new Chinese air force incursion at the top of the waterway.

As the US Navy's first stealth fighter and the world's only fifth-generation, long-range stealth strike fighter, the F-35C was designed and built explicitly for aircraft carrier operations. The F-35C is also operated exclusively by the US Navy. It costs approximately Rs 884 crore per aircraft.