F-35 Pilot Held In-Flight Conference Call Before Alaska Crash

A U.S. Air Force pilot was forced to abandon his F-35 in Alaska after a 50-minute conference call with Lockheed Martin engineers in an attempt to fix a landing gear malfunction.

The incident occurred on January 28 at Eielson Air Force Base. The aircraft crashed, but the pilot ejected safely. The investigation attributed the crash to ice in the landing gear system.

According to the report, the problem started after takeoff when the landing gear did not fully retract. Before abandoning the aircraft, the pilot communicated with Lockheed Martin engineers via teleconference.

Just nine days later, a similar incident occurred at the same airfield, but that F-35 managed to land successfully.