Viral Video, Images Show US Navy Stealth Fighter Jet Crashing Into South China Sea. Watch

The video showed the moment just before the $100 million jet crashed.

A new video and photo of the US Navy F-35 stealth fighter jet that crashed into the South China Sea on Monday have surfaced. The video showed the moment just before the $100 million jet crashed. A US Navy F35C Lightning II combat jet conducting exercises in the South China Sea crashed while trying to land on the deck of an American aircraft carrier, injuring seven sailors, the US military said Tuesday.

The pilot was able to eject before the aircraft slammed into the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson on Monday (Jan. 24) and then fell into the water. The pilot was safely recovered by a helicopter, said Lt. Mark Langford, a spokesman for the US 7th Fleet.

Watch the viral video below:

F35-C moment before crashed in south china sea .

US Navy stealth fighter Jet that crashed in south china sea . #US #jet #Crashed #SouthChinaSea pic.twitter.com/V99fxSBuRV

— Jafery (@Jafery0) January 28, 2022

Seven sailors, including the pilot, were injured and three were evacuated for medical treatment in Manila, Philippines, while four were treated onboard the ship. The three sent to Manila were reported in stable condition on Tuesday morning, the Navy said.

Details on the crash of the multimillion-dollar aircraft were still being verified, Langford said.

“The status and recovery of the aircraft is currently under investigation,” he told The Associated Press.

Images emerge of one of the US Navy’s newest stealth fighters crashing into the sea.

Two American carrier strike groups with more than 14,000 sailors and marines are conducting exercises in the South China Sea, which the military says is to demonstrate the “US Indo-Pacific Command Joint Force’s ability to deliver a powerful maritime force.”

Impact to the deck of the USS Carl Vinson was “superficial,” Langford said, and both carriers have resumed routine flight operations.

As China has pressed territorial claims in the South China Sea and increased pressure on Taiwan, the US and its allies have stepped up exercises in the region, in what they call freedom of navigation operations in line with international law.

(With inputs from the Associated Press)