An F-35 fighter jet crashed near Albuquerque International Airport in New Mexico on Tuesday afternoon, leaving the pilot seriously injured, authorities said.
Two Pentagon officials told CBS News the plane was a development model of the F-35 fighter jet delivered by Lockheed Martin Corp. They said the plane had just taken off from Albuquerque and was en route to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California.
A spokesman for Kirtland Air Force Base, located southeast of the Sunport, said in a statement provided to CBS News Tuesday night that Air Force pilots were “transporting” the F-35s from a Lockheed Martin facility at Naval Air Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards Air Force Base.
The pilot landed at Kirtland for refueling around 1 p.m. local time and the crash occurred shortly after taking off for Edwards Air Force Base, a Kirtland spokesman said.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Jason Feyer said in a social media video that multiple agencies responded to the accident shortly before 2 p.m. local time.
The airport reported on social media that the plane crashed near an airstrip south of the Sunport. The airport said the captain and the only passenger on board were conscious and were taken to a nearby hospital. Feyer said the captain was able to eject from the plane and was hospitalized with serious injuries. The captain was last reported in stable condition at the University of New Mexico Hospital, a Kirtland spokesman said.
Two civilians were also examined at the scene but did not require transport to hospital, Feyer added.
It was not immediately clear whether the pilot was a military or civilian.
Aerial footage from KOB-TV showed local firefighters battling the wreckage, and firefighters were able to get the blaze under control, Feyer said.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said on social media that he appreciates the quick action of the emergency responders who arrived on the scene and is praying for the pilot.
—David Martin contributed reporting.
